Pregnant Chinese women traveled to US to have babies in ‘birth tourism’ scheme, feds say
Two California residents ran a “birth tourism” business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the U.S. to have babies — to secure American citizenship for their children, federal prosecutors said.
Through their company, USA Happy Baby Inc., the man and woman typically charged their “affluent” Chinese clients $20,000 to $40,000 for their services, and up to $100,000 for those considered “VIP” customers, according to prosecutors.
They coached the women on how to trick U.S. customs, including how to hide their pregnancy, and had them stay in what officials called a “maternity hotel” in Rancho Cucamonga, located in San Bernardino County, until they gave birth, prosecutors said. Rancho Cucamonga is about a 40-mile drive east from Los Angeles.
The pair “had over 100 pregnant Chinese women as clients” from January 2012 to March 2015, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Within one or two months of having their babies, the women returned to China, prosecutors said.
Now, the man involved in the scheme, a 59-year-old Rancho Cucamonga resident, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a Dec. 16 news release.
“For tens of thousands of dollars each, (he) helped his numerous customers deceive U.S. authorities and buy U.S. citizenship for their children,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing document.
In September, the man and woman were both convicted of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
They were married during the scheme and are currently separated, the Associated Press reported.
Defense attorneys representing the man and woman didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Dec. 17.
The woman, 47, also of Rancho Cucamonga, “is expected to be sentenced in the coming weeks,” prosecutors said.
She cried when her spouse was sentenced, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. law doesn’t prevent international travelers who are pregnant from entering the U.S., but immigration officers have the authority to stop a pregnant person from entering, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A pregnant person’s expected delivery date, how long they’re staying in the U.S., and whether they have medical insurance are factors considered by a customs officer.
The officer may turn them away if they lack medical coverage and would likely need medical care from the U.S.
More on the birth tourism business
Before their pregnant clients traveled to the U.S., the man and woman had them lie in their visa applications, according to prosecutors.
The women weren’t truthful about why they were visiting the U.S., how long they were staying and where they were staying, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
The man and woman also taught their clients how to pass the U.S. Consulate interview in China before they eventually faced U.S. customs in America, according to court documents.
In January 2020, the U.S. State Department addressed the issue of birth tourism with an amended visa regulation.
As a result, “U.S. consular officers overseas will deny any B visa application” for someone they believe is traveling to the U.S. to give birth to “obtain U.S. citizenship for their child,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection says online.
For when their clients arrived in the U.S., the man and woman told them to wear loose-fitting clothes and advised them on how to answer customs officials’ questions to deceive them about their pregnancies, according to prosecutors.
After the women were allowed in the U.S., they lived in apartments that were rented by the man and the woman, prosecutors said.
The pair helped their clients apply for U.S. legal documents for their children born in America, according to prosecutors.
The man and woman “received money from overseas and used that money to promote their scheme,” prosecutors said.
Ahead of sentencing, the man asked for “mercy,” explaining his older parents and a 13-year-old son rely on him, the Associated Press reported.
“My intent was always to uphold the values of integrity and responsibility, so I regret any actions or decisions that may have brought us to this moment of judgment,” he said in the courtroom, according to the outlet.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said at sentencing that “these are choices you make, not that the court makes,” the outlet reported.
Klausner handed the man a lesser sentence because of his family’s circumstances, the AP reported.
Birth tourism has taken on a “new face” in the U.S., according to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.
In a report published in July, the organization said “lax U.S. laws governing international surrogacy” have paved a way for people who aren’t U.S. citizens to have their children born in the U.S. through an American surrogate.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Pregnant Chinese women traveled to US to have babies in ‘birth tourism’ scheme, feds say."
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