After driving 30 minutes east of downtown LA, I reached the apartment complex in Rowland Heights, California, that was rumored to contain a so-called Chinese “maternity hotel”: a place of questionable legality, where wealthy women seeking American citizenship for their children and a way around the one-child rule come to stay for a long vacation—one that happens to result in a baby about two-thirds of the way through.
“For about $15,000 you can have our basic package, a three-month stay here, with food and some Los Angeles tours,” Grace explained.
“If you want to pay more, you can get more tours and outings to better shopping and more time around the city.”
This is the going rate for the thousands of wealthy Chinese families looking to ensure a good future for their children.
They pay a deposit, then jet off to Southern California on a tourist visa and give birth to American citizens, which provides them a way around the one-child policy and a pathway for their kids to have easier access to American schools.
Maternity hotels guide them and shelter them throughout this long process.The practice is known as birth tourism, and it’s not illegal—strictly speaking.
It is, however, against the law to mislead customs officials into believing you’re in the United States purely as a tourist if your actual intention is to have a child on U.S. soil.
To get around this, many maternity hotels offer a coaching service to help their clients get through customs with ease. (They also provide medical recommendations and transportation when the time comes to give birth.
...Information from one of the search-warrant affidavits revealed that the proprietors of StarBabyCare have been conducting business for more than 16 years..."
No comments:
Post a Comment