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The United States has revoked more than 600 visas after reviewing suspected birth tourism cases. The crackdown signals a wider push against visa fraud and organised efforts to secure citizenship for children.
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Washington,UPDATED: Aug 12, 2026 22:46 IST
The United States has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals in the past month as part of a crackdown on what it called "birth tourism", Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. The action followed a review by a newly set up Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force created by the State Department.
The move comes after an August 6 executive order issued by US President Donald Trump. Rubio said the task force would continue to act against foreign nationals and networks involved in exploiting US laws and the visa system.
Announcing the action on X, Rubio said, "In just one month, the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has taken action to revoke more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe and will continue to safeguard our nation from this abuse."
He added, "American citizenship is not for sale." Rubio said, "But elaborate birth tourism rings are profiting off the exploitation of America's laws- coaching foreigners to defraud the US visa system, arranging travel and housing, and even forging documents, all to enable foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children."
Rubio said, "The State Department will use all available tools to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of US citizenship." According to the State Department, the task force is addressing abuse of the US visa system by analysing and connecting information held across the department and other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
An official statement said the coordination of the task force had enabled the department to examine travel histories of individuals from around the world as it seeks to end such exploitation and abuse. It added that the State Department generally revokes visas when there are indications of possible ineligibility, and said the secretary of state has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas.
The statement said the Trump administration is committed to using that authority to protect the American people and the integrity of the US immigration system. Overall, the revocation of more than 600 visas is part of a wider US push against birth tourism through the task force and tougher visa action.
With PTI Inputs
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Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 12, 2026 22:46 IST
