China Daily reports on the growing number of Chinese women who travel to the U.S. to give birth:
The list of benefits runs long for babies born in the US, says Jiang Feng, the Chinese mainland partner of the agency, which originated in Taiwan.
Jiang said babies born in the US will, at the very least, be entitled to a place at an American public university, which is favored by many parents over domestic institutions, both for quality of teaching and cheaper tuition.
“The number of mainland customers has been skyrocketing since we opened the branch in late 2008, right after the US opened tourist visa applications to Chinese individuals,” he told China Daily.
Most parents come from affluent families in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou. Some are motivated by the chance to get US citizenship for their babies, others want to evade China’s family planning policy, which restricts most urban couples to one child, he said.
Usually, parents use tourist visas to travel to the US when the pregnancy is in the sixth or seventh month. Typically, they stay for between three and six months, then return with their new arrivals.
Jiang said the agency trains couples to obtain visas and tells them how to handle themselves during US customs interviews.
Read more about this story via Shanghaiist.
