We determine your child's citizenship when you apply for the child's Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) or a U.S. passport. Check with your U.S. embassy or consulate for a full list of requirements. 

We may ask parents of children born through surrogacy to provide evidence of:

• The child’s conception and birth
• Genetic or gestational connections to your child
• Identity and citizenship
• Physical presence or residence in the United States before the child's birth
• Legal status as the child’s parent under local law

For the child to obtain U.S. citizenship, a parent must be:

• A U.S. citizen father who is the genetic father of the child
• A U.S. citizen mother who is the genetic mother or the gestational and legal mother of the child
  • A gestational mother carries and gives birth to the child.
• A U.S. citizen parent who is not genetically or gestationally related to the child. This parent must be married to a parent who has a genetic or gestational connection to the child at the time of the child's birth. 
  • Both individuals in the marriage must show they have a parental relationship with the child. Examples include: medical, tax, educational, or other documents that show the individual has acted in a parental role.   
  • If this requirement is not met for a child that has a genetic or gestational relationship with a U.S. citizen parent, the child may be able to obtain citizenship under Section 309 of the Immigration and Nationality Act if all other requirements are met. 

If a child born through surrogacy does not meet these requirements, the child has not obtained U.S. citizenship at birth.

DNA testing is often the best way for a parent to prove a genetic relationship to their child.

Visit our U.S. Citizenship at Birth page for more information. 

If your child under age 16 is a U.S. citizen, you may apply for the child's U.S. passport.

All legal parents or guardians should approve us to issue a passport to the child, including a surrogate mother who is the legal mother.

Consult a lawyer to help you document custody or guardianship of the child.

In some countries, a child will not get citizenship of the country where they were born because the surrogate mother is not considered the parent of the child. As a result, the child may not get a passport from the country where they were born. 

If your child is not a U.S. citizen, you may experience difficulty entering the United States with your child. Please consult your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 

We issue CRBAs to children under age 18 who were born abroad and got U.S. citizenship or nationality at birth. A CRBA documents that a child was a U.S. citizen or non-citizen national at birth. 

The CRBA does not serve as proof of the identity of the child’s legal parents. The names on the CRBA include the parents who have a genetic or gestational connection to the child. The parent(s) passing U.S. citizenship to their child must have their name(s) on the CRBA. A parent passing U.S. citizenship may approve adding the name of the other parent who does not have a biological relationship with the child.