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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGay couple sues over US refusal to recognize kid as citizen
ATLANTA (AP) A same-sex couple in Georgia said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the U.S. State Department is unconstitutionally refusing to recognize their daughter's rightful American citizenship.
The State Department's policy treats married same-sex couples as if their marriages do not exist and treats them differently from married straight couples in violation of the law and the Constitution, according to the suit filed in federal court in Atlanta. It was filed on behalf of Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg, whose daughter Simone was born in England in July 2018 via surrogate.
Both men are U.S. citizens and are listed as her parents on the birth certificate. But because only one has a biological connection to her, the lawsuit says, the State Department is treating her as if she was born outside of marriage, triggering additional conditions for the recognition of her citizenship.
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
A child born abroad to married U.S. citizens is automatically a U.S. citizen as long as one parent has lived in the U.S., the lawsuit says. But there are additional requirements if the parents are not married or if only one is a U.S. citizen.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gay-couple-sues-over-us-refusal-to-recognize-kid-as-citizen/ar-AAEKRkB?li=BBnbcA1
alwaysinasnit
(5,072 posts)birth in Canada.
Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)The extra requirement they had to meet is the biological parent had to have lived in the US for 5 years prior to the birth. That is, impossible to meet after the fact.
And it shouldnt have been necessary. I hope they win.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)The result would be the same if it was a straight couple who used a foreign surrogate.
The issue is not the gender of the US couple in either instance.