The United States has issued a tough warning to Nigerians, declaring it will deny visas to those whose sole reason for travelling is to give birth in America and obtain citizenship for their children.
In a post on its official X handle, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria stated unequivocally that this practice—popularly known as birth tourism—is not permitted under American immigration policy. “We will deny your visa if we believe your primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to get U.S. citizenship for your child,” the Mission posted. It added that consular officers are instructed to reject applications once such intent is suspected.
Birth tourism allows pregnant women to travel abroad with the aim of delivering babies that automatically acquire citizenship in countries that operate a jus soli (right of the soil) system—like the U.S.—regardless of their parents’ nationality or residency.
However, this long-standing policy has come under heavy political fire, especially under former U.S. President Donald Trump. In early 2025, Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants, triggering a wave of legal resistance.
Just last Friday, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante delivered a fresh nationwide injunction, blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to enforce the controversial order. This marks the third time the courts have halted the policy since a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June limited the powers of lower courts to issue sweeping injunctions.
In his scathing judgment, Laplante underscored the constitutional risks posed by such a drastic shift in policy. He wrote: “I have no difficulty concluding that the rapid adoption by executive order, without legislation and the attending national debate, of a new government policy of highly questionable constitutionality that would deny citizenship to many thousands of individuals previously granted citizenship under an indisputably longstanding policy, constitutes irreparable harm, and that all class representatives could suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction.”
The ruling also highlighted the potential economic fallout, as U.S. states argued that the proposed policy could threaten millions of dollars tied to health insurance services that depend on legal citizenship.
With this firm stance, the U.S. government has effectively put Nigerian birth tourists on notice, warning that attempts to game the immigration system through childbirth abroad will no longer be tolerated.