On August 6, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Birth Tourism,” directing the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to “take such actions and update any rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance as necessary to effectuate the policy [of preventing birth tourism].” The order states that such actions, within the Secretaries’ respective authorities and discretion, could include measures to deny or revoke nonimmigrant visas, block entry, remove, and permanently bar individuals who travel to or who have travelled to the U.S. specifically to engage in “birth tourism.”
Key Provisions:
- Definition of Birth Tourism: Entering or attempting to enter the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil or facilitating that travel.
- Enforcement Actions: Authorization to deny new travel visas, revoke existing visas, deny port-of-entry admission, and deport individuals already in the US,
- Retroactive Effect: Enforcement actions would apply to individuals who had previously engaged in “birth tourism” (effectively creating a permanent bar on entry to the U.S.)
- Third-Party Penalties: Directs actions against commercial entities, organizations, hotels, or individuals inside or outside the U.S. that assist or enable birth tourism schemes.
- Exemptions: Grants the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion to provide exemptions for humanitarian reasons or in the national interest.
Neither the Department of State nor the Department of Homeland Security have yet issued any guidance on effectuating the policy. In 2020, the Department of State added language to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) specifically precluding issuance of a visitor visa for the “primary purpose of giving birth in the United States (emphasis added). 9 FAM 402.2-4(A)(8). Notably, the Executive Order’s definition of “birth tourism” refers to the “purpose” of giving birth, not the “primary purpose.” The EO suggests a much broader application of the policy, not only to all nonimmigrant visa categories, but also including individuals whose primary purpose may have been something other than giving birth. In addition, although the EO’s definition of birth tourism is limited to nonimmigrants, the suggested enforcement measures include “denial of entry to, or removal of, any alien who previously engaged … in birth tourism,” which conceptually could include immigrant visas and lawful permanent residents.
For more information on Ending Birth Tourism,
We would be happy to set a phone consultation with you using our self-service system where you choose your date and time for your phone consultation and upload your documents for the attorney to review.
Click link to set phone consultation – https://gaillaw.as.me
text/call 407-292-7730 | whatsapp 407-353-1363 |email gail@gaillaw.com
Copyright © 2026, Law Offices of Gail S. Seeram. All Rights Reserved.
