Born in the USA

"What we offer is simply one-bedroom accommodation for $5,100, plus taxes, for a month, with airport transfer, baby cradle and a gift set for the mother," a spokeswoman for the Marmara Manhattan on New York's Upper East Side told The New York Times. There are also medical fees of $20,500.

The Turkish-owned hotel exploits the 14th amendment to the US constitution, which states that all children born on American soil "are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside".

For many, $26,000 is a bargain for US citizenship because parents can then use the baby as a stepping stone for the immigration of the entire family. The key markets for the service are Hong Kong, South Korea and Turkey. The hotel says that it has sold 15 of the packages so far.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, what the hotel is doing is entirely legal. But politicians in Washington are unhappy about it. Gary Miller, a Republican congressman, told the Times: "They come to this country and have babies. The children are citizens. The children are eligible to go to school. The American taxpayers are paying for it."