File photo: AP

Washington (People’s Daily) - The US State Department is adopting new visa rules that will make it tougher for pregnant foreigners to visit the US, aiming to crackdown on “birth tourism.”

A visa application will be denied if consular officers ascertain the primary purpose of the visit is to give birth, according to the rules in the Federal Register. 

Under the US Constitution, almost anyone born in the US is considered a citizen. The new rules, which were unveiled on Thursday, will take effect Friday and can be seen as a new step to tackle with what the Trump administration calls “birth tourism.”

This is part of the administration’s long-running effort to restrict access to the US to people looking to immigrate and to stop others, particularly from certain countries, from visiting at all.