The United States is one of few countries that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born on its land. This appeals to many foreigners who want more opportunities for their children.

“It was what they [my parents] had heard, how the living standard is here, and the opportunities for the kids were because they were thinking about our future. Yes, the opportunities were better here. So they closed down their business and moved here,” said Neepa about her parents’ decision to migrate to America.

While some choose to move to the United States, giving up their entire life in India, others take a separate, more direct path to secure their children’s future. For many, the ultimate goal is to become a U.S. citizen, and the quickest way to do that is to give birth to a child in the country. It’s typically done on a tourist visa that is granted for six months. After the child is born in the United States, it becomes a legal citizen.

After birth, the parents must return to India, but their child may return to America once they’re older. The child has dual citizenship in both countries. Moreover, if the child does decide to come to the United States in the future, it can also apply for a green card for the parents — giving them a chance to migrate permanently.

The Center for Immigration Studies states that birth tourism results in 33,000 births to women on tourist visas every year. The number may be even more for mothers who have immigrated illegally or on other temporary visas.

Swati Soni, managing editor of media organization, Telly Chakkar, decided to give birth to her daughter in the United States. “It was a family decision, mainly influenced by my father-in-law because my husband was once denied a visa for America. So one of the main reasons was that our children should not miss out on the opportunities for better education, jobs, flexibility and a better lifestyle.”

In 2020, the Trump administration proposed new rules that restricted birth tourism by denying a tourist visa to pregnant travelers unless they could prove that they had a compelling reason to travel to the country. The law did not come to fruition.