Each year, thousands of pregnant Chinese women flock to the United States to give birth to U.S. citizens and their arrivals have boosted the tourist industry of their favorite destinations.

Such a trip can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but these women seem to consider it a worthwhile cost, given that any baby born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen under American law.

This has provided a big boost to the tourist industries in a number of regions, such as Los Angeles.

According to a recent assessment by the University of California, the cost of birth tourism easily reaches 1 billion yuan (US$157.5 million) each year. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that about 40,000 pregnant women, the majority of them from China, are using tourist visas to deliver their babies in desirable spots.

Despite this being only a tiny proportion of the 2.2 million tourists heading to the United States last year, the expenditure of the pregnant women during their stay – a minimum of two weeks and often longer - is awesome.

Although there are no specific figures available, birth tourism has indeed had an impact on local economies.

According to an FBI investigation of maternity centers housing the traveling mothers-to-be, now being accused of involvement in visa fraud and tax evasion, a pregnant woman will spend between 40,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan on a series of services, such as, accommodation, transportation, hospitals and visa application, provided by the centers.

At present, the doctors and hospitals in charge of the delivery of the tourism births are free of prosecution. Tourists are legally allowed to deliver babies to the United States; however, concealing their true purpose in visiting the United States before visa officers does infringe the laws.

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