American woman has invitro twins not recognized as US citizens

[punisher73]

Thought this was an interesting story.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47073090/ns/today-today_news/

Basically, the woman is a US Citizen, but lives in Israel. She went to an israeli clinic and got a sperm/egg implanted into her womb. She gives birth to twins there in Israel and went to get citizenship for the children. The US denied her claim, as there was no proof that either the egg or sperm were from an american donor. The law supports the decision.

 

[granfire]

I suppose they are familiar with the AI in Israel so they asked questions at the consulate....otherwise the question 'How did you conceive' is pretty intrusive.

Reminds me of a MASH episode (actually 2):
The crew tries in vein to get a half American half Korean infant out of the country, while in an earlier episode Trapper had nearly no problems trying to adopt a Korean orphan...except that the mother showed up and took the boy back.


The babies came out of an American mother. She is the legal parent of them. But good grief, their biological lineage could be - GASP - foreign.....

I am sure the donors can gain immensely from having anonymously donated their unused reproductive parts to an American woman...


It makes a lot of sense to me </sarcasm>

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that for a child born outside of the USA to be considered a US citizen by birthright, they must be born to parents who are both US citizens.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html

Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock

A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the INA provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship.

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother:

A person born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 309(c) of the INA if the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person&#8217;s birth and if the mother was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year prior to the person&#8217;s birth. The mother must be genetically related to the person in order to transmit U.S. citizenship.

It's not really a question of how the child was conceived, it is a question of US citizenship laws, period. However, I don't have a problem if people want to change the current laws.

 

[granfire]

I could be mistaken, but I was under the impression that for a child born outside of the USA to be considered a US citizen by birthright, they must be born to parents who are both US citizens.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html






It's not really a question of how the child was conceived, it is a question of US citizenship laws, period. However, I don't have a problem if people want to change the current laws.

Of course it is a matter of law.

But considering how just dropping in prior to labor gets the kid a passport, but being born to a US mother doesn't, that makes the logic part of my brain smoke.

 

[punisher73]

I agree with what the mother said. The laws have not kept up with technology. Should it warrant a new law/clause or just make people aware of the law and what they have to do to be in compliance with it?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I agree with what the mother said. The laws have not kept up with technology. Should it warrant a new law/clause or just make people aware of the law and what they have to do to be in compliance with it?

I don't see any new technology involved. The question had nothing to do with how the woman became pregnant; it had to do with whether or not the father was a US citizen. In-vitro fertilization didn't' affect the decision that I can see. The question "Are both parents US citizens," answered correctly with 'I don't know" would get the same response if she had gotten pregnant in the usual way but did not know the citizenship of the father.

 

[David43515]

Of course it is a matter of law.

But considering how just dropping in prior to labor gets the kid a passport, but being born to a US mother doesn't, that makes the logic part of my brain smoke.

Actually, no, just dropping in wouldn't do it if I read Bill's link correctly. There was also a bit there that said the U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to pass on citizenship. So if both egg and sperm were donated, the mother wouldn't meet the genetic relation requirement. (Seems overly specific to me personally)

 

[WC_lun]

Are we sure this article has been properly vetted? Seems that the information about the how the child was created even being asked about would be...unusual. The child's legal mother of birth is American, so the child should have dual citizenship until age eighteen.

 

[granfire]

Are we sure this article has been properly vetted? Seems that the information about the how the child was created even being asked about would be...unusual. The child's legal mother of birth is American, so the child should have dual citizenship until age eighteen.

Well, these days hardly any article is properly 'vetted'

I can however see that question being asked considering the country's more liberal stance on covering fertility treatments. I 'could' see a sort of fertility tourism happening.

But yeah...unusual aspects in the case.

 

[Carol]

If the article is correct -- the US hasn't said no citizenship, no how, no way. It seems citizenship for the kids is possible, but Mom needs to live here for 6 months and do paperwork while she is here -- which Mom isn't willing to do. Not quite the same thing, although a friend calls this sort of thing "denial by bureaucracy" -- make something so difficult to do that folks abandon the notion of trying.

 

[punisher73]

I don't see any new technology involved. The question had nothing to do with how the woman became pregnant; it had to do with whether or not the father was a US citizen. In-vitro fertilization didn't' affect the decision that I can see. The question "Are both parents US citizens," answered correctly with 'I don't know" would get the same response if she had gotten pregnant in the usual way but did not know the citizenship of the father.

They implanted both egg and sperm I thought, so neither one is from a US citizen. That is probably technology that didn't exist when the case was a female getting pregnant living in another country.

 

[granfire]

If the article is correct -- the US hasn't said no citizenship, no how, no way. It seems citizenship for the kids is possible, but Mom needs to live here for 6 months and do paperwork while she is here -- which Mom isn't willing to do. Not quite the same thing, although a friend calls this sort of thing "denial by bureaucracy" -- make something so difficult to do that folks abandon the notion of trying.

It sounds easily enough on paper, but in reality, who can afford to take 6 month off of life and move....
Denial by Bureaucracy is about right.

 

[WC_lun]

Do they really keep citizen information on eggs and sperm? Okay, so I an see it is likely that both are from local sources, but do they really keep definitive information like that? What if one of the above is donated by a tourist or illegal alien? Would that be info that would be shared?

The birth certificate would list the mom as the birth mother, wouldn't it? I wonder who is listed as father. If the mother is on the birth certificate, how does that get over-ridden by how the baby was concieved? There is just so much that doesn't make a lot of sense about this story.

 

[CanuckMA]

Do they really keep citizen information on eggs and sperm? Okay, so I an see it is likely that both are from local sources, but do they really keep definitive information like that? What if one of the above is donated by a tourist or illegal alien? Would that be info that would be shared?

The birth certificate would list the mom as the birth mother, wouldn't it? I wonder who is listed as father. If the mother is on the birth certificate, how does that get over-ridden by how the baby was concieved? There is just so much that doesn't make a lot of sense about this story.

Or the egg and sperm could be her's and her husband's. There has to be something more to this.

 

[oftheherd1]

Actually, no, just dropping in wouldn't do it if I read Bill's link correctly. There was also a bit there that said the U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to pass on citizenship. So if both egg and sperm were donated, the mother wouldn't meet the genetic relation requirement. (Seems overly specific to me personally)

That is an official website of the US Department of State. So vetting as mentioned above isn't a worry.

I wasn't aware of the law stating a requirement for genetic relationship between one of the US citizen parents. But it looks like there was a law change to prevent attempts at US citizenship if there was no genetic/blood relationship between a US citizen and a child. I would guess some people got caught trying to do that only for the purpose of the child getting US citizenship, and a law change was enacted to prevent that.

 

[granfire]

That is an official website of the US Department of State. So vetting as mentioned above isn't a worry.

I wasn't aware of the law stating a requirement for genetic relationship between one of the US citizen parents. But it looks like there was a law change to prevent attempts at US citizenship if there was no genetic/blood relationship between a US citizen and a child. I would guess some people got caught trying to do that only for the purpose of the child getting US citizenship, and a law change was enacted to prevent that.

The article, not the links from Bill.