"Anchor babies” are a myth. Here are the real reasons women like me give birth in the US. [View all]

[LiberalArkie]

The author's son in his tie onesie. (Kateryna Panova)

On the day my son Eden was born, the only thing I was anxious about was the paperwork. I'm from Ukraine and my husband is from Israel, and even though we both knew that the United States has birthright citizenship, I still wondered if my son would indeed get a birth certificate and become an American.

I made sure I met the hospital birth registrar well in advance, on a tour of the hospital. I bought her candy according to my country's tradition of thanking — or, more accurately, bribing — the right people. I felt like I needed to pull strings to get my son his passport. I even bought a onesie with a black tie so that Eden would look all formal in his photo shoot for the American passport.

It was a big day when my son's passport finally arrived in mail. My husband and I stared at its blue cover, and then turned every page carefully and respectfully. I showed it to all of our relatives on Skype, and they admired it. Ever since, they call Eden "the American" and seldom by his name. I still find it especially mind-blowing that the passport says the secretary of state requests to give my son "all lawful aid and protection." I'm happy for such a generosity. But I can't stop thinking that my son and I didn't do anything to deserve this privilege.

I didn't set out to have an American baby. I came to the United States three years ago on an exchange visitor visa to study at New York University. One summer I had an internship in Miami, where I met a cute guy on OKCupid. A couple of weeks later, I accidentally got pregnant. Several months after, I went into labor at Memorial West Hospital in Florida and gave birth to "the American." (I also married the guy afterward.)

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http://www.vox.com/2016/3/28/11284116/birth-tourism