Affluent Chinese parents rethink US ‘birth tourism’ amid new restrictions

Li, a woman in her late twenties from southwestern China, is anxious about her coming interview for a 10-year US visa.

She has big plans for her travels – a weeks-long stay next year that would be her first visit to the country – followed by a planned return trip in two years while pregnant so her child can attain American citizenship.

But those plans have been thrown into doubt. Last week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order

seeking to end “birth tourism”, tightening scrutiny on foreign nationals entering the US for the purpose of giving birth.

“I was speechless when I saw the news,” said Li, who preferred not to disclose her full name due to privacy reasons. “Trump is too unpredictable.”

With reports emerging on Chinese social media of pregnant women being turned away at US border checkpoints in the past week, prospective parents face growing uncertainty over whether their plans to secure broader international education options for their children remain viable.

A landlord based in Los Angeles – a popular entry port for expectant parents – said that four incoming tenants, who were Chinese and pregnant, were denied entry into the US over the past week.