How US 'maternity tourism' operators lure Chinese mums
Lies and loose clothing: How companies are coaching Chinese women desperate to ensure their newborns are granted American citizenship
Zhang Xiaoyan made it clear that she had one objective for travelling to the US from China - to give birth so her child would automatically be an American citizen.
Rest assured, a representative of You Win USA, a company advertising "maternity tourism" services, told Zhang. For fees starting at US$38,000, she would soon be in the US on a tourist visa to await the birth of her child at a luxury apartment complex in Irvine, California.
The company instructed Zhang and her cousin to book tickets to a popular tourist destination, such as Hawaii or Las Vegas, purchase a tour package she had no intention of using and fabricate an employment history to convince immigration officials that she would not overstay her visa, according to a federal affidavit unsealed Tuesday.
"If the story is convincing and she's good looking then the success rate will be pretty high when she goes for the visa interview," a company representative told Zhang's cousin.
In fact, the woman and her cousin were undercover Homeland Security Investigations agents, according to the affidavit, which documented their discussions with You Win USA officials. In a coincidence, the operators of You Win USA set up their operation in an apartment complex across the street from the federal agency's Irvine field office.
You Win USA was one of three operations raided by federal agents targeting "maternity tourism" schemes in which pregnant Chinese women travel to the US, usually on tourist visas, so their children will be born as citizens.
