SoCal parents celebrate end to State policy denying citizenship to children of same-sex couples

Elad, who works at IKAR, and his husband Andrew used a surrogate to conceive their fraternal twins Ethan and Aiden, who were born in Canada in 2016, where Andrew is a dual U.S./Canadian citizen.

When the couple moved to the United States in 2017, Andrew sponsored Elad (who was born in Israel). However, they were forced to submit to DNA testing for their sons — something that is not required for non-same-sex couples. Because Aiden was conceived using Andrew’s sperm, he was granted U.S. citizenship from birth. However, Ethan, conceived via Elad’s sperm, was only allowed into the U.S. on a tourist visa.

In 2018, Immigration Equality filed a case against the U.S. State Department and in 2019, a federal judge ruled that Ethan was a U.S. citizen since birth. However, the State Department appealed the decision, insisting a married U.S. citizen must have a biological connection to their child in order to pass on birthright citizenship. However, in October 2020, a federal appeals court upheld the 2019 decision that Ethan was a U.S. citizen from birth, noting that the State Department had wrongly interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act.

With the State Department’s reversal of its policy on May18, Immigration Equality Executive Director Aaron Moss said in statement, “This is a remarkable moment for all the LGBTQ families who fought the U.S. State Department’s unconstitutional policy. 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.”

Elad Dvash-Banks told SoCal Jewish News, “We are so thrilled that we finally have closure and resolution to this. The nightmare started over four years ago and after back-to-back victories in the courts, knowing now that the State Department policy has changed so no other family will experience what we did, gives us such happiness and relief.”