State Department Ends Policy that Denied Citizenship to Children of Married Same-Sex Parents

In a significant victory for equality this week, the U.S. State Department has ended a policy that had denied birthright citizenship to children born abroad to married same-sex parents if the U.S. citizen parent was not biologically related. This also ends years of uncertainty for at least one two-mom couple who have been fighting for their child’s citizenship.

Allison Blixt, a U.S. citizen, is 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, married legally there, and had two sons, Lucas and Massi. Stefania gave birth to Lucas and Allison gave birth to Massi. In 2015, shortly after Lucas’ birth, the women went to the U.S. Embassy in London to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad and a U.S. passport for Lucas. The U.S. State Department officials there asked intrusive questions about his conception and birth, refused to recognize the women’s marriage, and refused to recognize that Lucas was also Allison’s son, according to court documents. They did not grant him citizenship and these critical documents.

In 2017, after Massi’s birth, they tried again. Marriage equality had by that time been made legal in the U.S.—not that that should have mattered, since even before Lucas’ birth, the women were legally married in the jurisdiction where they lived. The State Department granted citizenship to Massi, but again, not to Lucas. They even told the couple that it was using a policy applicable solely to unwed mothers, according to Immigration Equality.

Furthermore, the Immigration and Nationality Act has never required a biological relationship for married parents, making the State Department’s policy inconsistent with the law. Every federal court that heard the issue has agreed, notably in three cases involving two-dad families. Last year, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks and their twin boys, and the State Department withdrew its appeals in the cases of Roee and Adiel Kiviti and their daughter, and Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg and their daughter, letting favorable district court rulings stand. The Zaccari-Blixt family’s case has been pending before a district court in New Jersey.

“We are relieved and thankful that our fight for our family to be recognized by the government has finally ended,” said Allison Blixt in a press statement. “We knew we would succeed eventually, as trailblazers before us fought and won marriage equality. Our marriage is finally recognized and treated equally. Lucas, who made me a mother, is will finally be treated as my son and recognized as American, as his brother always has been.”

The State Department will now recognize the children of all married U.S. citizens who are born abroad, in accordance with the law.

“This is a remarkable moment for all the LGBTQ families who fought the U.S. State Department’s unconstitutional policy,” said Immigration Equality’s Executive Director Aaron Morris. “It demonstrates that when our community is united, and relentlessly pushes back against discrimination, we win. We have once again affirmed that it is not biology but love that makes a family.”

Watch Allison and Stefania talk about their story below.