Going to New York to give birth - fines or fees?

You should first check with the airline if they will accept her on the plane, each airline has its own rules about pregnancy and travel.

There is a very good chance that she will not be allowed into the country. At a certain point she will be denied access.

Many women---( I am not suggesting you are doing this-- I don't know who has what citizenship)-- in the past came to the US when they were VERY pregnant. Then they gave birth. Both parents weren't citizens but now their child is.

The US government wants to deter that from happening.

I'm sure the airlines don't want the baby being born mid fllight either!!!!

legal

MrMike said:

OK look I said that she was due at the end of May. Of course we have already talked to the airline and she will be allowed on the plane up to 2 months before se is due - and after that she can lie if she wants. We have lots of friends at AA so there is almost no chance she will be denied boarding.

I am asking specifically if immigration will fine or otherwise punish her for having a baby while in the country on a tourist visa. The baby is a US citizen anyway because I am and this tactic was recommended to me by the consulate but they didn't say anything about fines or fees so that is what I am asking.

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Maybe you should have put this in the legal forum and mr guzman could answer for you ?

Mike, check out this link.

Special Report: Born In The USA - Investigations

I can't see why they would fine you. You are an AMERICAN. You can go home to YOUR own country with YOUR wife to have YOUR child who is going to be an AMERICAN anyway.

I never heard of anyone being fined under similar circumstances. Even if you get fined it would probably be cheaper then all the hassel you would get having the baby in the DR. Congrats on the baby. I say have the baby in the US and deal with the consequences later (if there are any).

I know a Dominican lady that has three children, all born in the US on a tourist visa with no fines and no problems.

I think someone is jealous and just trying to mess with your wifes' head......
I know Americans do some crazy things but to fine a person who is legally in the country with her husband who is an American just because she gives birth there sounds pretty off the wall to me.....
Anyhow they haven't started taxing births yet but you will have to pay Dr and hospital fees!

MrMike said:

The baby is a US citizen anyway because I am and this tactic was recommended to me by the consulate but they didn't say anything about fines or fees so that is what I am asking.

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actually just because you are American it does not mean that the baby automatically will receive American citizenship. The law was changed recently around the time of my daughter's birth. If the American parent has not been resident in the US at some point in the preceding five years to the child's birth, I believe that now citizenship is not automatically conferred, though I am sure you can still get it.

I am sorry I cannot answer your main question, but I thought people should know about this.

macocael said:

actually just because you are American it does not mean that the baby automatically will receive American citizenship. The law was changed recently around the time of my daughter's birth. If the American parent has not been resident in the US at some point in the preceding five years to the child's birth, I believe that now citizenship is not automatically conferred, though I am sure you can still get it.

I am sorry I cannot answer your main question, but I thought people should know about this.

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The UCSIS webpage doesn't substantiate such a claim. Maybe you can be more specific as to the information you have.

MrMike said:

When I went through the process of declaring my daughter I was required to provide proof that I had lived in the US for five years (got the impression from reading the documentation that in some cases it's 10 years)

This was hard to come up with since I was home schooled (no school records) self employed (no tax records) and generally lived with room-mates (no utilities or leases in my name)

Also we were interviewed by a consulate worker who had sole discretion to determine based on the general impression we gave him whether we were a real couple, whether the baby was really mine, etc.

It was overall a degrading experience and though ultimately successful, it is not something I would wish to repeat and all indications are that I would have to repeat it from scratch with no credit for having been through this once already.

Apparently there is a separate process whereby a person is a US citizen if his grandparents are citizens, but it seems this has to be done by the grandparents from within the US.

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Mike - I feel your pain. the wife had to go through the process alone with our first daughter and it wasn't easy.

There is good news though. If you decide to stay you already have the documentation you need to prove "physical presence". see link

Proof of Physical Presence for Certificates of Birth Abroad

Also, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, when you go for your interview DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH! Hopefully they will give you an American who will interview and if not and if the person doesn't speak crystal clear English, let them know that you want to speak to a manager to have them changed to speak with an American.

The reason why I think this is important, based on my personal experience is that it is common for the Domincians working there to:

1. very skeptical
2. have the typical attitude here where the customer is always wrong as opposed to American attitude where the customer is always right.

Trust me buddy this is important. In my case I ended up having to spend 9 months away from my wife and daughter because of some @#$% @#$% ^$$^&&* @@$$%^ ^&&% idiot who could hardly speak English giving me @@#@$ #$#%$ ##%%#$ #$%#% erroneous information!!!!!!

So if you decide to go thru this take my advice.

Also, give me a call or send me a pm so we can get together for dinner this week so the womenfolk can talk.

Chip