Gavel (illustration)
Gavel (illustration)iStock

A boy born to an Israeli father from an egg donor and surrogate mother should have been granted birthright US citizenship, a federal judge in California has ruled.

The child, 2-year-old Ethan Dvash-Banks, was denied US citizenship since his biological father is Israeli.

Ethan's twin brother, born from the same egg donor and surrogate but to an American father, received US citizenship at birth.

The twins' fathers, Elad and Andrew Dvash-Banks, applied for citizenship for their sons after their birth. However, the twins and their fathers were required to undergo DNA tests to determine their relationships and citizenship status.

Andrew's son, Aiden, was granted US citizenship immediately. However, the US State Department denied Ethan citizenship since his father Elad is Israeli, not American.

The State Department had argued it was following policy which states that a child born abroad must be biologically related to an American parent to become a citizen.

The Thursday ruling said that as a child born to a married US citizen parent, Ethan is entitled to birthright citizenship like his brother.