Antigua and Barbuda Nationals Warned Against Birth Tourism by U.S. Embassy in Barbados

By Shermain Bique-Charles
[email protected]

The United States Embassy in Barbados has issued a stern warning to nationals from Antigua and Barbuda, as well as other Caribbean nations, regarding the misuse of tourist visas to give birth in the U.S. and obtain citizenship for their children.

This advisory is part of a larger crackdown on birth tourism, which U.S. immigration authorities classify as a misuse of the B-1/B-2 visa category.

According to the embassy, tourists applying for visas who are suspected of planning to give birth during their visit to the United States will be denied entry, in line with federal visa policy updates from 2020.

This measure aims to preserve the integrity of U.S. immigration laws and curb the exploitation of the birthright citizenship provisions under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The advisory emphasizes that using a B-1/B-2 tourist visa primarily to give birth is considered a misuse of the visa and will not be tolerated.

Consular officials are instructed to deny applications where there is reasonable belief the main purpose of travel is to give birth in the U.S. for the purpose of securing citizenship for the newborn.

While birth tourism has been a long-standing practice, the recent notice from the U.S. Embassy seeks to deter further attempts to exploit the country’s birthright citizenship principle.

The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that any child born on U.S. soil automatically receives U.S. citizenship, which has attracted thousands of foreign mothers each year.

Legal sources indicate that around thirty-three thousand babies are born annually in the U.S. to mothers who entered the country as tourists.

This figure does not include births from women arriving on temporary visas or without proper documentation, suggesting the actual number is significantly higher. Such trends have raised serious concerns among U.S. lawmakers regarding national security and immigration implications.