The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) published this Tuesday (30) an internal memo determining that all federal prosecutors and the Criminal Division pass to treat as a priority the investigation and criminal prosecution of so-called “birth tourism” schemes.
The document, signed by Deputy Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, states that specialized organizations have been exploiting the immigration system American when guiding pregnant foreigners to enter the United States, hiding the true reason for the trip so that their children automatically acquire American citizenship at birth.
Although many cases are classified as visa fraud, Prosecutors are now instructed to also analyze other possible federal crimesincluding:
- electronic fraud (Wire Fraud);
- wire fraud conspiracy;
- money laundering;
- money laundering conspiracy;
- illegal use of identification documents;
- qualified identity theft;
- conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud;
- in addition to the possibility of criminal confiscation of assets related to crimes.
What is “birth tourism”?
Birth tourism occurs when a foreign woman travels to the United States with the main objective of giving birth in the country, guaranteeing the baby American citizenship through the principle of jus soli.
While giving birth in the United States is not illegal per se, the DOJ emphasizes that crimes arise when there is:
- lies not asked for seen;
- false statements to immigration authorities;
- concealment of pregnancy;
- companies that organize and sell this type of service through fraud.
According to the memo, thousands of foreigners annually explore this system using false information to enter the country.
Recent cases
In 2024, Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong were sentenced to 41 months in prison for operating USA Happy Baby Inc.
According to the DOJ, they:
- charged Chinese clients tens of thousands of dollars;
- helped to fraudulently obtain visas;
- provided housing and transportation in the US;
- they advised clients to hide their pregnancy from immigration authorities.
Another case cited occurred in 2022, when Ibrahim Aksakal received a sentence of 27 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud (wire fraud) and fraud in the healthcare sector. According to the memo, he promoted birth tourism services on Turkish-language social media and instructed women to conceal their pregnancies when entering the United States.
In addition to prison, he was ordered to pay:
- $1,039,723.63 in restitution;
- $397,500 in asset forfeiture.
The DOJ also recalls a 2020 case involving Chao “Edwin” Chen, who was sentenced to 37 months in prison. According to the American government, Chen operated the company You Win USA, which had teams in China and the United States and served more than 500 Chinese customers.
Each customer paid between US$40,000 and US$80,000, while the company reportedly received around US$3 million in international transfers in just two years.
