The United States Mission in Nigeria has issued a strong warning to Nigerians seeking to travel to the US primarily to give birth in order to secure American citizenship for their children.

In a post on its official handle on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter), the US Mission reiterated that using a visa for childbirth purposes is a violation of US immigration policy.

“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted,” the statement read.

It further warned: “Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent.”

The warning comes amid heightened checks on visa applications and tighter enforcement of policies against ‘birth tourism’—the practice of travelling to the US to give birth so that a child automatically obtains American citizenship.

Recall that the US Department of State had recently revised its visa reciprocity policy, stating that most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens would now be single-entry visas with a three-month validity.

Naijaonpoint reports that the mission explained that these measures align with global security benchmarks aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the US immigration system.