The United States Mission in Nigeria has issued a stern warning to visa applicants, cautioning that any individual found to be travelling primarily to give birth in the U.S. for the purpose of securing American citizenship for their child will be denied entry.

The advisory was posted on Monday via the mission’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, @USinNigeria, as part of a broader awareness campaign aimed at curbing visa misuse.

“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted. Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent,” the statement read.

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An image accompanying the post reinforced the message, stating plainly:

“We will deny your visa if we believe your primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to get U.S. citizenship for your child. This is not permitted.”

The campaign, which carries the hashtags #VisaWiseTravelSmart and #USVisa, aims to educate prospective travelers on the proper use of U.S. visas and discourage attempts to exploit the immigration system.

The U.S. government has consistently reiterated that while giving birth in the U.S. is not illegal, doing so with the sole purpose of obtaining birthright citizenship without transparency violates visa rules.