The United States of America is one nation where non-Americans fantasize about giving birth to children.
However, giving birth in the USA is not affordable, unless you have health insurance.
Also, giving birth in American does not guarantee you a safe delivery, as statistics have shown some worrying mortality rates, during and after childbirth.
In this article, we will thoroughly look at what it means to give birth in the USA. We’ll take a look at the benefits, what it means for foreigners and some innovative methods of giving birth in America.
Finally, we’ll take a look at some laws that apply to childbearing in the USA.
Benefits of giving birth in the USA
Right of the soil” is scrupulously observed in the U.S. – Children born in the U.S. have citizenship as a birthright. In other words, if you want your child to be an American citizen, arrange for the child to be born in a U.S.-based hospital.
Being born in the U.S. provides a wide range of benefits for a child in addition to American citizenship and a Social Security number:
- Visa-free entry to 169 different countries.
- Eligibility for government benefits, including social insurance
- Grants while enrolling in major U.S. educational establishments
- Voluntary military service with adequate remuneration and perks
- Access to multiple credit sources after age 21
In addition to the benefits for the child, there are several to consider for the mother:
- The level of medical services is higher in the U.S. than in the CIS countries
- The mother leaves her troubles at the homeland and enjoys calming peace, which is crucial for a healthy pregnancy
- During the pregnancy period, she lives in an ecologically favorable region with comfortable infrastructure
- Great birth care for the mom and the child.
Birthright citizenship is given only to a child born on U.S. soil.
What happens if a foreigner gives birth in the USA?
After coming of age (21 years in the U.S.), your child may submit an Alien Relative Petition to allow you to receive a Green Card.
However, because your child is an American citizen, does not guarantee your citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. That’s why it is recommended that parents consider other ways of legal immigration to the U.S. through employment, as businessmen, investors, or other means.
It is a complicated task to obtain a non-immigrant visa for a mother-to-be. Wise planning beforehand can help to ensure the child is not going to be born on a plane over the ocean, but on the territory of the States, and that the future mother will pass migration control successfully.
Entering the U.S. is considered to be a privilege. Visiting the States to give birth to a new baby represents a delicate situation, requiring the special attention of an immigration officer.
A mother-to-be must provide strong evidence of her intention to return to the homeland, that she has strong ties with her country, and that her financial and social conditions are adequate for her to live safely before and after the birth of a child without seeking government aid and to return home.
Is it illegal to give birth in the USA?
There are no laws prohibiting foreigners from traveling to the United States to give birth; the children born here are automatically American citizens, according to the Constitution.
Several attempts have been made, particularly in the last 20 years, to reform this situation. However, these reforms have remained unsuccessful.
What many do not realize is that an “anchor baby” does not guarantee immediate citizenship for the parents or ensure continued residency in the US for the child. In most instances, while the child will have US citizenship, the child would not be able to live alone in the US until reaching the age of 18.
What are modern methods for giving birth in the USA?
Few things in life are more exciting than the birth of a new baby. This has been the case throughout human history, but childbirth options for new mothers have advanced to make the experience safer.
Different Kinds of Delivery Methods
1. Vaginal Delivery
In a vaginal birth, the baby is born through the birth canal. It’s hard to know when exactly you will go into labour, but most women give birth at around 38-41 weeks of pregnancy.
2. Cesarian Section
Of course, we know that not all births happen as planned. When complications arise, other methods of delivery are available.
A cesarean section or C-section is the delivery of a baby through a surgical incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus.
3. Vaginal Birth After a Cesarean section
In the past, a C-section ended any hope of future vaginal deliveries. But today, thanks largely to changes in surgical technique, VBAC is possible in many cases. An estimated 75 percent of women who try VBAC have a successful vaginal delivery.
4. Vacuum Extraction
Vacuum extraction is a procedure sometimes done during vaginal childbirth. During vacuum extraction, a health care provider applies the vacuum to the baby’s head to help guide the baby out of the birth canal.
5. Forceps Delivery
A forceps delivery is a type of operative vaginal delivery. It’s sometimes needed in the course of vaginal childbirth. In a forceps delivery, a health care provider applies forceps to the baby’s head to help guide the baby out of the birth canal.
What are the important things a mother should know about birth in the USA?
Counting down to a baby’s arrival for months. The time is near. And while it’s OK to be nervous, knowing what to expect and being prepared can make a mother’s delivery experience go more smoothly.
Most healthy women will have healthy pregnancies with labour at full term. In the weeks leading up to the due date.
Here’s a checklist of things to do as you prepare to finally meet your little one.
Have your gear ready.
Several weeks before your due date, you should have your hospital bag packed. Items to include:
- Robe, slippers, socks, nursing tops and comfortable clothes to wear home
- An extra set of clothes in case baby spits up on you
- Weather-appropriate clothes and receiving blanket for the baby to wear home
Know the first signs of labour.
“Some women will have a slow build-up of minor aches or cramps, much like menstrual cramps,” “For many, it’s a slow, gradual process, with irregular and infrequent contractions hours or days before labour.”
Know what a labour contraction feels like.
If this is your first little one, you may not know what to expect. Contractions are the gradual tightening of the uterus.
Recognize a false alarm.
Braxton Hicks contractions can occur any time throughout pregnancy, and while uncomfortable, they are not painful.
Know when it’s time to go to the hospital.
Latent labour is a very unpredictable phase. For some, it is a short interval, and for others, it can be very prolonged.
Most recent laws for pregnant women about to give birth in the USA
The Trump administration imposed new visa rules aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can have U.S. citizenship. The regulations, address one of President Donald Trump’s political agenda.
Under the new rules, pregnant applicants will be denied a tourist visa unless they can prove they must come to the U.S. to give birth for medical reasons and they have money to pay for it or have another compelling reason — not just because they want their child to have an American passport.
- The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” Section 301(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1401(a) states that “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” shall be a national and citizen of the United States at birth. The INA provides a clear method for those who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth to acquire it later: Naturalization.
- This is a stark difference between aliens using a temporary visitor visa to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children and the extensive requirements applicants must meet to naturalize to become U.S citizens. To naturalize, an alien must establish an attachment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and favourable disposition toward the “good order and happiness” of the United States, including a depth of conviction that would lead to active support of the Constitution, and not be hostile to the basic form of government of the United States or disbelieve in the principles of the Constitution. See 8 U.S.C. 1427(a); 8 CFR 316.11(a). Adult citizens are entitled to numerous rights and benefits of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections, the ability to run for public office, the ability to serve on a jury, and the option to petition immediate family members to immigrate to the United States when they reach the age of twenty-one. Citizens have a right to enter the United States even without a U.S. passport. See Worthy v. the United States, 328 F. 2d 386, 394 (5th Cor. 1964). The previous regulation failed to address the national security vulnerability that could allow foreign governments or entities to recruit or groom U.S. citizens who were born as the result of birth tourism and raised overseas, without attachment to the United States, in manners that threaten the security of the United States.
What rights do an American-born child have?
A child born within United States territory or because one or both of their parents is (or was) a US citizen. Birthright citizenship contrasts with citizenship acquired in other ways, for example by naturalization.
Birthright citizenship is guaranteed to most people born on U.S. territory by the first part of the Citizenship Clause introduced by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (adopted July 9, 1868), which states:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”.
The Amendment overrode the Supreme Court decision in (1857) that denied US citizenship to African Americans, whether born in the United States or not, and whether a slave or a free person.
According to the Fourteenth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a person born within and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States automatically acquires US citizenship, The “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause excluded Native Americans living under tribal sovereignty, and U.S.-born children of foreign diplomats.
There are few rights more fundamental than the right of citizenship. And there are few laws more fundamental than the constitution. The Amendment ensures that citizenship in the United States is universal. Citizens have rights that neither the federal government nor any state can take away without due process and the equal protection of the law. That is true, in the language of the amendment, even to undocumented immigrants.