Things have changed: Born in the U.S.A.

[danb]

Here is a recent story about surrogate mothers:

 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/23/news/china-us-surrogacy/index.html

 

Instead of Chinese women coming to the states to have a child, there are wealthy Chinese willing to pay big bucks to have American women to be surrogate mother for their children. Should the children born in the US have all the rights of an American citizen? I tend to want to say yes and yet I wonder if those children will be loyal to the US. I guess there are different ways to look at it. Danb

[Randy W]

Here is a recent story about surrogate mothers:

 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/23/news/china-us-surrogacy/index.html

 

Instead of Chinese women coming to the states to have a child, there are wealthy Chinese willing to pay big bucks to have American women to be surrogate mother for their children. Should the children born in the US have all the rights of an American citizen? I tend to want to say yes and yet I wonder if those children will be loyal to the US. I guess there are different ways to look at it. Danb

 

 

Under the American Constitution, they ARE American citizens, IF they are born on American soil. Loyalty is NOT a requirement.

 

It's not clear in a case where, say, an American surrogate mother travels to China to deliver the baby. Would this baby be allowed to claim an American passport? My guess is that the Chinese birth certificate would show the American as the birth mother, and so WOULD be an American citizen.

 

But these cases, where the baby is born in the U.S., seem relatively cut and dry of legal issues,

 

Paying Americans to carry their children allows Chinese to circumvent their home country's restrictive policies on reproduction -- surrogacy is illegal, and despite recent reforms, families still face penalties if authorities learn they have more than one child.

 

Another incentive: The child is automatically a U.S. citizen, and can sponsor their parents for a green card on reaching the age of 21.

 

While there is currently a debate in the U.S. over birthright citizenship, surrogacy centers interviewed by CNNMoney said they carefully screen applicants, and require couples to demonstrate a medical reason for seeking surrogacy.

 

 

especially those born in California

 

The intended parents can easily get their names -- not the surrogate's -- printed on the child's birth certificate. In other states, the paperwork is much more complicated.

 

[tsap seui]

Cornfucius say...

 

Have loophole,

we'll find

[Thomas Promise]

If Trump gets elected and can get enough political moment to repeal the 14th it won't be an issue.

[newacct]

It's not clear in a case where, say, an American surrogate mother travels to China to deliver the baby. Would this baby be allowed to claim an American passport? My guess is that the Chinese birth certificate would show the American as the birth mother, and so WOULD be an American citizen.

In that case, no. Transmission of US citizenship to children born abroad is based on blood relationship. See 7 FAM 1131.4.

[Randy W]

 

It's not clear in a case where, say, an American surrogate mother travels to China to deliver the baby. Would this baby be allowed to claim an American passport? My guess is that the Chinese birth certificate would show the American as the birth mother, and so WOULD be an American citizen.

In that case, no. Transmission of US citizenship to children born abroad is based on blood relationship. See 7 FAM 1131.4.

 

 

 

Thanks. The situation is more directly covered in this paragraph from your link:

The status of the surrogate mother is immaterial to the issue of citizenship transmission. The child is considered the offspring of the biological parents and the appropriate INA section is applied. Evidence to establish the blood relationship between the child and the biological parents would be similar to that mentioned in 7 FAM 1131.4-2 a.

 

 

 

In the event that the Chinese parents might try to use the citizenship of the surrogate mother to obtain American citizenship for their child (born in China), this is followed in 7FAM 1131.5 by an extensive discussion of "Suspected False or Fraudulent Citizenship Claim of Minor Child"