So she's not a citizen herself, can't prove the citizenship of the father, and had the children overseas?

I don't have a problem with this result.

I don't see where you're seeing that she's not a U.S. citizen. It's been a long day; I could be missing it.

I don't see where it says she is. And if she was, she'd get a different result.

Implication is that she's U.S. born, but the legal question turns on the citizenship of the donors of the egg and sperm. In other words, she's a stateless incubator.

USAToday story says: "JERUSALEM – Chicago native Ellie Lavi could not have been happier when she gave birth to beautiful twin girls overseas."

The article also states, "Most of the 200,000 U.S. citizens in Israel have dual citizenship,and fertility treatments are common because they are free. "

SOCIALIST ISRAEL

Reading elsewhere, it is stated that she is an American citizen, but that both egg and sperm cannot be identified. An American incubator in Israel does not an American citizen make, according to this tale of woe.

It is being contrasted with tales of Americans adopting children overseas who are then granted citizenship for them.

Seems simple then. Adopt your in-vitro kids! JK, I know this would be pretty tough to navigate.

So if it turns out that she is a U. S. citizen herslelf, it is an interesting question. Is jus sanguines purely based on DNA or is the act of carrying a child to term worth anything?

The US seems to be going with the DNA thing.

Hm. I don't know what I think about that.

Did they run a DNA test on the twins and the mom?

IIRC, there is a statute similar to the one that's always referred to if SAD had gone to Kenya to have her baby. It's for a US citizen mother living abroad having a child whose father is unknown. Do we know if she met the residency requirements? In the old cases like this, residency at some point was a part of the requirements.

And then there is the matter of allegiance ......

She admitted that both the egg and sperm were donated. If she had lied, they would be citizens.

A law shouldn't encourage that of course.

It certainly would be easier if the United States stopped recognizing dual-citizenship for adults. Ellie Lavi left the US and holds Israeli citizenship. If she'd been required to give up her US citizenship, we wouldn't be having this debate (on these particular circumstances) .

ducking become I know I'm going to probably going to attract some flames

I'm just a country mouse here, but if Ellie is shown as the Mom on their birth certificates, and Mom is a USAn, then I'm not sure what the problem is. Jus sanguinis isn't that complicated.

Except that the US is saying the sanguinis isn't Ellie's and they don't know whose sanguinis it is.

If Ellie is on the birth certificate and Ellie is a US citizen but Ellie tells the truth when asked how she got them there babies, then Ellie is SOL.

I guess I'm a little confused. So if Verb and I decided to have a baby and we decided that it would be best (my oh-so-advanced maternal age and so on) if we used donor egg and sperm, what would the status of the baby be? (I'm not talking about citizenship for a second.) Would we have to adopt the child that came out of my body?

I'd make damn sure the baby was born on US soil.

Unknown parents. Born in Israel.

Hey! We could groom and nurture another Usurper!

But is that true? Unknown parents? Legally speaking, I mean.

At my age, I'd have to use donor eggs if I wanted to have another child. That child would legally be of "unknown mother"?

If you're the vessel and deliver the baby in the US. Just being born on US soil unless its mothers a jackal, should meet the test.

I'm not talking about being a u.s. citizen though. I'm talking about it being of unknown parentage. I'm talking about the status of parentage. Is the parentage of the child settled if it is born here? (Not the citizenship, the parentage.)

I guess I'm asking unimportant questions re: the story, but it's not impossible that I could have a child in this way, and it had NEVER occurred to me that such a child could be considered of "unknown mother". I'm shocked.

It makes no sense that if she adopts the kids they become US Citizens, but if she gives birth to them they are ineligible for citizenship? In both cases she would be the "legal" parent.

Another article I read pointed out, does this mean that anyone artificially inseminated overseas with the sperm of a US citizen results in their child being a US citizen? Could be quite a market for that

I could be wrong, but I think that egg donation is very different that sperm donation. The egg donor has to go through a lot more such as being given fertility drugs to produce many eggs at once and then there is a harvesting procedure. I think most of the time the donor is chosen and paid by the prospective parents. I don't think the state laws have kept up with all the permutations of in vitro procedures and the consequences. I think that there are rules about what to put down for birth mother and for biological mother.

For sure, I don't think immigration and citizenship laws have kept pace with all the possibilities.