Chinese Woman Admits Helping Rich Visitors Give Birth to Babies in the United States
TRIP OF A LIFETIME
A Chinese woman living in California has admitted taking money from pregnant foreigners to help them give birth in the United States. Dongyuan Li, 41, pleaded guilty during a hearing at a U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. She admitted running the birth-tourism operator You Win U.S.A. Vacation Services between 2013 and 2015. The company provided pregnant women—usually from China—with travel, food, accommodation, and entertainment in the U.S. until they gave birth, the Orange County Register reports. When they were born, the children were then entitled to birthright U.S. citizenship. You Win reportedly claimed that it had helped more than 500 Chinese women obtain U.S. citizenship for their children. Li allegedly charged each customer between $40,000 and $80,000, and received $3 million in wire transfers from China. As part of her plea agreement, Li has agreed to forfeit more than $850,000 as well as her property.