Two pairs of bi-national same-sex parents are suing the U.S. State Department for refusing to recognize their valid marriages and denying their children their rightful citizenship at birth. See them tell their stories in two short videos.
Immigration Equality and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP filed lawsuits yesterday on behalf of the two couples, and shared a little about the couples. Allison Blixt is a U.S. citizen married to Stefania Zaccari, an Italian citizen. They met in New York when Stefania was there on vacation. When they decided they wanted to live together in the U.S., Allison could not sponsor Stefania for a visa because the Defense of Marriage Act (struck down in 2015) was still in place. The two women therefore moved to London, got married, and had two sons, Lucas and Massi. Allison was able to pass her citizenship to her children even though they were born abroad, but the U.S. State Department refused to recognize her marriage. It said Massi was Allison’s son because she had given birth to him, but denied that Lucas, who was carried by Stefania, was Allison’s son. It thus refused to recognize that Lucas was a citizen, and even told the couple that it was using a policy applicable solely to unwed mothers. Despite a letter from Immigration Equality and Sullivan & Cromwell detailing the family’s situation and the policies that apply, the State Department again refused to recognize Lucas’s citizenship.
Andrew Dvash-Banks, a U.S. citizen, and Elad Dvash-Banks, an Israeli citizen, met while Andrew was studying in Israel. Like Allison and Stefania, they wanted to live together in the U.S. but were unable to because of the Defense of Marriage Act. Instead, they married and settled in Canada, where they had twin sons through surrogacy. When they sought recognition of the twins’ U.S. citizenship, the State Department demanded DNA tests and other documentation of their biological relationships to the boys, even though, says Immigration Equality, the law imposes no biological requirement. One son was conceived with the sperm of one father and the other son with the sperm of the other father, so the State Department said one is a U.S. citizen while the other is not. The latter boy had to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa.
In both cases, the State Department’s actions are ridiculous and shameful. Here’s the legal argument, as Immigration Equality sees it:
Currently, the Immigration and Nationality Act has several scenarios in which a baby born abroad derives U.S. citizenship from birth. One provision states that a baby born abroad “in wedlock” to a U.S. citizen and a foreign person acquires citizenship at birth.
For different-sex parents, when a mother and father walk into a U.S. consulate with a marriage license and a birth certificate, they ultimately walk out with a U.S. passport for their child. For same-sex parents, when two married fathers walk into a consulate with a marriage license and a birth certificate (listing both fathers as exclusive birth parents), they are asked invasive questions about how the baby was created, gestated, and birthed. This is the same for two mothers. If a baby has no biological relationship to the U.S. citizen, the child is wrongly refused citizenship.
“I want our children to find happiness in whatever they find happiness in. I don’t want my child to I don’t want my child to feel kicked out and to have to feel rejected by their own country,” says Allison in the video below.
Despite my deep concerns with the current federal administration, I still believe there is good in our country and system of government. There are flaws to be sure, but there is still much value. These families clearly feel the same if they are seeking recognition of citizenship for their children. Let’s not turn them away. Sign this petition asking the State Department to recognize them.
