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Lured by US citizenship for their children, thousands of Chinese women give birth annually in the States, supporting a thriving birth-tourism industry. Jiang Wenjun was getting ready to go to America. His wife, due to give birth to their son any day, was already there. Like any expectant parents, the Shanghai couple agonized over how best to prepare for the arrival — and upbringing — of their firstborn child. American citizenship, they decided, was one of the finest gifts they could bestow. “America is the strongest country in the world,” says Jiang, whose son was born just days after he eventually arrived in California this month. “We want our child to have the best future.” The US is one of the few nations where simply being born on its soil confers citizenship on a newborn. That policy has spawned a birth-tourism industry, in which pregnant foreigners flock to American hospitals to secure US passports for their babies. Although the foreign couple can’t acquire US nationality themselves, once their American-born offspring turn 21 they can theoretically sponsor their parents for future US citizenship. Another perk: these American-born kids can take advantage of the US education system, even paying lower in-state fees for public universities, depending on where they were delivered. (California is a popular birth-tourism destination because of its well-known university system.) | 
