Surrogacy agencies in China and the United States are catering to wealthy Chinese who want a baby outside the country’s restrictive family planning policies, who are unable to conceive themselves, or who are seeking US citizenship for their children.

Emigration as a family is another draw – US citizens may apply for Green Cards for their parents when they turn 21.

While there is no data on the total number of Chinese who have sought or used US surrogates, agencies in both countries say demand has risen rapidly in the last two years.

U.S. fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies are creating Chinese-language websites and hiring Mandarin speakers.