US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa restriction policy targeting people involved in commercial birth tourism networks on September 23, 2026The policy covers network owners, visa fixers, and foreign medical providers who help foreigners give birth in the US to obtain citizenship for profitCertain family members of those found to have engaged in birth tourism facilitation may also be affected by the new restrictionsPAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng! The United States government has introduced a new visa restriction policy aimed at cracking down on commercial birth tourism, targeting individuals and networks that profit from helping foreign nationals obtain American citizenship through births on US soil.Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on September 23, 2026, saying it targets those who “knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.”The US expands visa restrictions to target birth tourism operators, facilitators, and networks that profit from citizenship-by-birth schemes. Photo credit: Dominik Bindl Source: Getty ImagesThe policy is grounded in Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and covers a wide range of actors, including owners, operators, and managers of commercial birth tourism businesses, so-called visa “fixers” who coach applicants to lie on their visa applications, foreign medical providers who knowingly support such travel and the fraudulent use of the US Medicaid system, and others who help enable the practice.How birth tourism networks operateAccording to Rubio, these commercial networks advertise their services to foreign nationals and charge tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births in the United States, with the explicit goal of securing US citizenship for the child. He said the networks also actively coach clients to make false declarations on visa applications.PAY ATTENTION: From breaking news to viral moments.
Follow Legit.ng on Instagram!”The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of U.S. citizenship,” Rubio said in the press statement.Who the restrictions coverThe new restrictions do not apply only to the main operators. The policy also extends to family members of those found to have engaged in or benefited from commercial birth tourism facilitation, though the statement did not specify the exact degree of relation that would bring a family member under the restriction.Rubio framed the policy as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to protect American public benefits and taxpayers, as well as to safeguard national security. He said the administration is “using every tool at our disposal to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship.”See the X post below:US suspends most visa processing in NigeriaLegit.ng earlier reported that the US Embassy in Abuja has announced a suspension of most nonimmigrant visa processing in Nigeria, while confirming that a narrow category of diplomatic and official visas will continue to be handled. Source: Legit.ng Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is an AFP-certified journalist.
He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Nasarawa State University (2023). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022). He is a 2025 CRA Grantee, 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow.
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