'Not permitted': US to deny visas if primary travel purpose is to 'give birth for citizenship'

US Embassy in India on Thursday, posted on X stating US consular officers will deny tourist visa applications if they believe the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for the child clarifying that this is not permitted.

This falls under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which has long been interpreted as guaranteeing citizenship for babies born in the United States.

The amendment's Citizenship Clause states that all "persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1861-1865 that ended slavery in the United States. However, US President Donald Trump signed the order his first day back in office on January 20 as part of a suite of initiatives he has pursued during his second term as president to crack down on legal and illegal immigration.

The Trump administration has argued that the provision does not grant citizenship to the babies of immigrants who are in the country illegally or whose presence is lawful but temporary, such as university students or those on work visas.

On a related matter, the US abruptly postponed re-scheduled interviews of thousands of H-1B visa applicants slated for later this month in India by several months apparently to scrutinise their social media posts and online profiles.

Some of the applicants, whose visa appointments were scheduled next week, have received e-mails from US immigration authorities informing that their interviews are being pushed back as late as May next year.

The mass cancellation of scheduled interviews of the H-1B visa applicants in view of the enhanced vetting measures is set to result in significant delays in their return to the US. The rescheduling of the interviews is for all applicants who were previously given appointments from December 15 onwards.

(With Reuters inputs)