A married same-sex couple is suing the U.S. State Department for refusing to recognize the U.S. citizenship of their child despite the fact that both parents are U.S. citizens.
Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg married in New York in 2015. In 2018, they had their daughter Simone via surrogacy in England and both fathers are listed on her birth certificate, Immigration Equality and Lambda Legal tell us. The family now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. When they applied for recognition of Simone’s U.S. citizenship, however, the U.S. consulate in London rejected their application. Although both men are U.S. citizens, only one of them has a biological connection to Simone. The State Department has chosen to disregard the men’s marriage and treat Simone as if she was born out of wedlock. Lambda Legal explains that unlike married different-sex couples:
When a same-sex couple goes to a U.S. consulate abroad to apply for their child’s passport, they are subjected to invasive questioning about how they brought their child into their family. Unless both parents can demonstrate a biological connection to their child, the child is treated as if he or she were born “out of wedlock.” Then, the family must meet additional criteria before their child’s citizenship is recognized, hurdles that married couples are not supposed to have to overcome.
The State Department thus views to Jonathan as a single parent. Single parents must show they are biologically related to their child and have resided in the U.S. for five years before the child’s birth. Jonathan does not meet this residency requirement—but as a married U.S. citizen, that shouldn’t matter, because married parents are not subject to this restriction.
Simone was allowed to enter the United States on a tourist visa, but her visa status is about to expire.
Mize and Gregg said, “Becoming Simone’s fathers has been the greatest privilege of our lives. Her beautiful voice, her hugs, her toddling around the house—these are daily blessings in our home. We are filing this litigation today because, as her parents, we have a duty to protect our daughter.”
The Mize-Greggs aren’t the only family to face similar discrimination from the State Department. In February, a federal judge ruled that the son of two married men, one a U.S. citizen and one an Israeli citizen, must be recognized as a U.S. citizen like his twin brother. But the ruling was a narrow one and did not say anything about the constitutionality of the State Department’s policy—which means it continues. Moms Allison Blixt, a U.S. citizen, and spouse Stefania Zaccari, an Italian citizen, have also sued the State Department for refusing to recognize that their son is a citizen.
Marriage equality should mean just that—equality. Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality, and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis are spearheading the lawsuit for the Mize-Gregg family, but you can help, too. Sign the petition to the State Department telling them to stop discriminating against married same-sex couples and their children.
