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LA TIMES

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.

The raids marked the largest federal investigation of its kind aimed at cracking down against the widespread practice of foreign nationals travelling to the US solely to give birth.
Swarms of agents descended on apartment complexes in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, carting out boxes of documents, diaper containers and trash, and interviewing pregnant women to the backdrop of wailing babies.
Investigators said they were looking for evidence of visa fraud, conspiracy and other crimes in which women were helped to fabricate documents for visa applications and coached to falsely claim that they were travelling to the US for tourism.
Women were allegedly instructed to travel early in their pregnancy and wear loose clothing to avoid detection, and enter the US through popular tourist destinations rather than Los Angeles, where authorities are more likely to suspect birth tourism.
"US might refuse entry (if) the belly is too big," one business stated on its website, advising women to travel at 24 to 30 weeks into their pregnancy.
The businesses, known as "maternity hotels" or "birthing centres", present a headache for local government and law enforcement because it is not necessarily illegal for foreign nationals to give birth in the US.
Many agencies openly advertise services offering assistance in getting newborns a US passport and extolling the benefits that come with American citizenship, including public education and immigration benefits for parents.
Taiwanese, Korean and Turkish mothers are also known to engage in birth tourism, but the practice has become particularly popular in recent years with the newly wealthy Chinese middle class.

Cities have cited such operations for building, fire or zoning violations, but they often swiftly relocate and reopen.
One affidavit quoted a law review article estimating about 40,000 of 300,000 children born to foreign citizens in the US each year are through birth tourism.
One company, Star Baby Care, boasted on its site that it had served 4,000 women from China since it was founded in 1999, according to an affidavit.
Efforts to outlaw or regulate the practice have so far been unsuccessful.
A bill in the 2013 Congress to limit birthright citizenship to babies with at least one American parent was never voted on. A proposal that would have made it a misdemeanor to operate hotels outside areas where they are allowed by zoning codes died in a legislative committee.
Los Angeles County assembled a task force in 2013 to field related complaints and cited 28 maternity hotels, but never passed an ordinance specifically barring birth tourism.
Such operations, however, could run afoul of existing visa and tax laws.
One woman interviewed by federal agents said she didn't understand why investigators came knocking on her door.
"This is a good company and I've been treated well," she said.
The woman said she came from China late last year and went sightseeing until she gave birth to a son a few weeks ago.
Even though she had no intention of living there, she said she wanted her son to be able to apply to US colleges because "America has the world's best universities".


How US 'maternity tourism' operators lure Chinese mums

Federal agents (left) swarm on upscale an apartment complex believed to be a birth tourism business in Irvine, California. Photo: AP

A US website advertising its maternity services

Federal agents interview residents in a series of raids across Los Angeles. Photo: AP

US homes raided in crackdown on pregnant Chinese ‘birth tourism’ rings

Agents question residents at an apartment complex in Rowland Heights, California, as part of the investigation yesterday. Photo: TNS

Federal agents swarm over an upscale apartment complex in Irvine, California, that was allegedly being used to house Chinese "birth tourists" on Tuesday. Photo: AP

A website that advertises the services of a US company that caters to women from China who want to give birth in the United States. Photo: AP

An exterior view of Carlyle Apartments, a location suspected of involvement in "birth tourism" schemes, in Irvine, California. Photo: Reuters 

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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.


How US 'maternity tourism' operators lure Chinese mums

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lies and loose clothing: How companies are coaching Chinese women desperate to ensure their newborns are granted American citizenship

Lies and loose clothing: How companies are coaching Chinese women desperate to ensure their newborns are granted American citizenship