Gay married couple sues after daughter denied U.S. citizenship

A gay married couple in Maryland is suing to challenge the State Department’s refusal to recognize the U.S. citizenship of their infant daughter, who was born in Canada to a surrogate mother this year.

Roee and Adiel Kiviti with their children.Roee and Adiel Kiviti / Immigration Equality

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday, says a State Department policy unlawfully treats the children of married same-sex couples as if they were born out of wedlock.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Roee Kiviti and Adiel Kiviti, says the suit is at least the fourth such case to challenge the policy. Immigration Equality, an LGBTQ immigration advocacy group, is leading the court effort to gain birthright citizenship for these children. The other three known families suing are Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks; Allison Blixt and Stefania Zaccari; and Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg.

After the State Department denied the birthright citizenship of one of the twin sons of Elad and Andrew Dvash-Banks, a federal judge in California ruled in February that the Dvash-Banks’ twin son has been a U.S. citizen since his birth. The State Department is now appealing the judge’s decision.

The State Department didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest suit.

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