A U.S. citizen, Ellie Lavi, utilized IVF at a fertility clinic to get pregnant; see the USA Today article dated March 20, 2012. When she gave birth, she was overseas in Tel Aviv. She then applied for U.S. citizenship for her children at the U.S. Embassy and was told that her children were not eligible for citizenship unless she could prove that the egg or sperm that they created the embryo from was from an American citizen. According to the U.S. State Department, there only has to be a link with at least one parent. Thus, if a single woman utilizes IVF with donor eggs, she should not leave the United States until after the child is born to avoid citizenship problems. If a couple utilizes IVF with donor sperm and donor eggs, the advice is the same. Otherwise, if either parent’s sperm or egg is used, they should be fine, but if they travel, they should travel with documentation/proof that they are biologically related to the child to avoid having citizenship problems if the woman goes into labor outside of the United States.
