Nigerian Women To Be More Affected By US Visa Review

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

Nigerian women may become the primary victims of the immigration visa review about to be unfolded by the Donald Trump administration in the United States.

Under the review, the administration aims to block pregnant women in foreign countries from obtaining US tourist visas.

The move is to stop, “birth tourism”, a term which means an arrangement that allows pregnant women to travel to another country to give birth.

“Under this rule, if a consular officer has reason to believe a nonimmigrant visa applicant will give birth in the United States, the applicant is presumed to be seeking a visa for the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for the child,” a draft rule obtained by BuzzFeed News reads.

“To rebut this presumption, the visa applicant must establish, to the satisfaction of a consular officer, a legitimate primary purpose other than obtaining US citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States.”

The draft guidance to be issued to consular officers reads: “Any B nonimmigrant visa applicant who you have reason to believe will give birth during her stay in the United States is presumed to be traveling for the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for the child.

“The applicant can overcome this presumption if you find that the primary purpose of travel is not obtaining US citizenship for a child.”

A State Department spokesperson told the platform that, “this change is intended to address the national security and law enforcement risks associated with birth tourism, including criminal activity associated with the birth tourism industry.

“We expect the rule will be published shortly. More details will be available when the rule is published.”

However, officers are told not to ask as a matter of course whether the applicant is pregnant or intends to become pregnant, or require an applicant to provide evidence that they are not pregnant.

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