The Atlantic
The IVF Cases That Broke Birthright Citizenship
The U.S. had to rethink its definition of parenthood, to account for children born abroad to American parents using egg and sperm donors or surrogates.
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Ethan and Aiden Dvash-Banks are twin brothers born just four minutes apart on the same September day in the same hospital room in Ontario, Canada. But shortly after their birth in 2016, the U.S. State Department decided that the two boys were very different in the eyes of American law: Aiden was a U.S. citizen but Ethan, the brother with whom he’d shared a womb, was not.
US to Grant Citizenship to Children Born via IVF or Surrogacy
The United States is now granting citizenship to children born through in vitro fertilization or other means of assisted reproductive technology, such as surrogacy.
President Joe Biden’s administration is changing the federal government’s interpretation of Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which outlines the requirements for acquisition of U.S. citizenship at birth.
Previously, the government required children have a biological connection to their U.S. parent to receive citizenship. Under the updated interpretation, the child may only have a biological connection to one parent, even if that parent is not a U.S. citizen.
U S changes policy that denied citizenship to the children of same-sex couples cbsnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cbsnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
State Department restores citizenship rights to children born abroad to married same-sex couples
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Elad Dvash-Banks, left, and his partner, Andrew, pose for photos with their twin sons, Ethan and Aiden in their apartment in 2018 in Los Angeles.Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
The Biden administration restored citizenship rights Tuesday to children born abroad to married same-sex couples from the United States.
Under the policy announced by the State Department, the child will be recognized as a U.S. citizen if the parents are married at the time of birth, at least one is a U.S. citizen, and at least one parent has a genetic relationship to the child, through pregnancy or fatherhood.
The State Department reverses a policy that denied citizenship to some babies born abroad to same-sex parents.
Elad Dvash-Banks, right, and his partner, Andrew, play with their twin sons, Ethan, left, and Aiden, in their apartment in Los Angeles, in January, 2020. In a decision issued in October, 2020, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling recognizing the citizenship from birth of Ethan Dvash-Banks, a twin boy born abroad by surrogacy to the couple.Credit.Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
May 18, 2021
In a victory for same-sex couples, the State Department on Tuesday said it would grant U.S. citizenship to babies born abroad to married couples with at least one American parent no matter which parent was biologically related to the child.