International surrogacy has not been banned in the United States. However, two Executive Orders issued on August 6, 2026 created important new citizenship and immigration issues, including provisions specifically addressing certain commercial transactions involving U.S.-based surrogates. The citizenship order is already being challenged in court, as earlier birthright-citizenship orders were, and the issue remains open. International Intended Parents should obtain individualized reproductive-law and U.S. immigration/citizenship advice before beginning a U.S. surrogacy journey.
On August 6, 2026, President Donald Trump issued two Executive Orders addressing U.S. birthright citizenship and birth tourism. They followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2026 decision in Trump v. Barbara, which reaffirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on nearly all children born in the United States, subject to a limited set of long-recognized exceptions.
One of these orders, Executive Order 14418, specifically addresses certain commercial transactions involving a surrogate present in the United States or a U.S. territory who gives birth.
A separate order, Executive Order 14419, addresses “birth tourism” and authorizes federal immigration authorities to take measures involving visas, entry, and organizations or individuals facilitating prohibited birth-tourism arrangements.
These are significant developments for international families considering surrogacy in the United States. They do not, however, create a general federal ban on international Intended Parents pursuing lawful U.S. gestational surrogacy.
Yes. International Intended Parents may continue to explore gestational surrogacy in U.S. states where their proposed arrangement is permitted under applicable law.
The recent federal actions primarily raise separate questions involving:
U.S. citizenship;
Passports and federal documentation
Visas and entry into the United States
Immigration status
Establishment and recognition of parentage
Recognition of the child and Intended Parents in their home country
Surrogacy law, parentage law, immigration law and citizenship law are related but legally distinct subjects. For that reason, an international surrogacy journey should now include citizenship and immigration planning before embryo transfer, rather than waiting until the surrogate is close to delivery.
Executive Order 14418 establishes a federal policy that executive departments and agencies will not issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship in specified circumstances when neither parent is a U.S. citizen. It directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Social Security to align their agencies’ policies accordingly.
Of particular importance to international surrogacy, the order expressly identifies circumstances in which a parent engaged in a commercial transaction with a surrogate present in the United States or a U.S. territory to give birth.
This is an important change in federal policy and should be reviewed carefully by international Intended Parents with qualified legal counsel. The order does not define what constitutes a “commercial transaction,” and it does not distinguish between lawful, court-approved gestational-surrogacy agreements and fraudulent schemes.
The application, interpretation and enforceability of federal citizenship policy may also be affected by court decisions, agency guidance and the particular facts of an individual case. Legal challenges to Executive Order 14418 have been filed, and implementation guidance from federal agencies is still developing.
Yes. Executive Order 14418 is being challenged in federal court by civil-rights organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asian Law Caucus and the Legal Defense Fund, and further litigation is expected.
This follows a familiar pattern. President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order on birthright citizenship was challenged immediately, blocked by lower courts, and ultimately held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara on June 30, 2026. In that decision the Court reaffirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on nearly all children born in the United States, with only a narrow set of historical exceptions.
Executive Order 14418 seeks to describe additional categories of children as falling outside birthright citizenship, including children born through certain commercial surrogacy arrangements. Whether that approach is consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Barbara is a question the courts have not yet answered. A federal court may issue a temporary restraining order or injunction while the case proceeds, and the order could be narrowed, upheld or struck down.
For international Intended Parents, this means the legal issue is still open. The policy described on this page is current federal executive policy, not settled law. Families should plan on the basis of the policy as it stands today while recognizing that it may change, and should ask their counsel to monitor the litigation as their journey progresses.
Not necessarily. Executive Order 14419 defines birth tourism in terms of a foreign national entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil, as well as certain efforts to facilitate such entry.
A typical international gestational-surrogacy arrangement can be factually different. For example, the gestational carrier may already be a U.S. resident living in her home state. The Intended Parents may create embryos through IVF and enter into a gestational-surrogacy agreement with independent legal representation. Parentage may then be established through the applicable state-law process.
Nevertheless, Executive Order 14418 separately contains language specifically addressing certain commercial transactions involving U.S.-based surrogates. International Intended Parents therefore should not assume that their particular arrangement is either covered or unaffected by the new federal policies without individualized legal advice.
Surrogacy4All does not guarantee U.S. citizenship.
Historically, birth in the United States has generally provided a basis for U.S. citizenship, subject to recognized exceptions. The August 2026 federal actions create new questions for certain international surrogacy arrangements.
Therefore, Surrogacy4All does not represent or guarantee that a child born through a U.S. surrogacy arrangement will:
These questions should be reviewed with qualified independent counsel based upon the facts of the individual family’s case.
No. The Executive Orders do not establish a general prohibition against foreign Intended Parents entering lawful U.S. gestational-surrogacy arrangements.
The United States continues to offer significant advantages for international families, including established IVF programs and, in many states, well-developed legal procedures for gestational-surrogacy agreements and establishing parentage. New York, where Surrogacy4All is licensed under the Child-Parent Security Act, provides a statutory framework for compensated gestational surrogacy and pre-birth parentage orders.
What has changed is the importance of addressing citizenship, immigration and international travel issues at the beginning of the journey.
International Intended Parents concerned about the new U.S. federal policy may also wish to evaluate a Canadian surrogacy journey — in parallel with, or as an alternative to, a U.S. journey.
Canadian surrogacy and citizenship law has not changed. The August 2026 U.S. Executive Orders have no application in Canada. Under Canadian law, a child born in Canada is a Canadian citizen at birth regardless of the parents’ nationality, subject to narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats, and legal parentage is established through a provincial court order. Surrogacy in Canada operates under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act on an altruistic basis: surrogates are reimbursed for approved expenses rather than paid compensation.
Surrogacy4All’s Canadian surrogacy program is coordinated with our partner clinic in Toronto and follows the same physician-led screening and matching standards as our U.S. program. Families can pursue Canadian and U.S. matching at the same time and proceed with whichever journey fits their timeline and legal needs.
Points to weigh: the altruistic framework and surrogate availability in Canada, provincial parentage procedures, travel for transfer and delivery, and the fact that home-country recognition of parentage and citizenship still requires independent advice regardless of where the child is born.
Learn more about our Canadian surrogacy program
Before embryo transfer, Surrogacy4All recommends that international Intended Parents consult:
Counsel can advise on the gestational-surrogacy agreement, state-specific requirements and establishment of legal parentage.
Families may also need advice concerning citizenship by descent, passports, recognition of parentage and the child’s ability to enter and reside in the Intended Parents’ home country.
Surrogacy4All can coordinate the surrogate-matching, screening, medical and administrative components of the U.S. journey and work with the family’s independent professional advisers.
Surrogacy4All continues to assist eligible Intended Parents from around the world who wish to explore U.S. gestational surrogacy. As a physician-led, New York State-licensed surrogacy program (NYS Surrogacy Program License GSP220903), we have supported international families since 2006.
Our objective is not simply to help families reach embryo transfer and delivery. For international families, planning should consider the entire journey — from surrogate matching and IVF through parentage, citizenship review, travel documentation and taking the baby home.
Recent federal developments make early legal planning more important, but they do not mean that international surrogacy has been banned in the United States.
Considering U.S. Surrogacy From Outside the United States?
Speak with Surrogacy4All about your proposed journey and the professionals who may need to be involved before you proceed. Call (212) 661-7673 or schedule a consultation.
No general federal prohibition on international Intended Parents pursuing lawful U.S. gestational surrogacy was created by the August 2026 Executive Orders. State surrogacy laws and federal citizenship and immigration rules involve separate legal questions.
Yes. Executive Order 14418 expressly addresses certain commercial transactions involving a surrogate present in the United States or a U.S. territory who gives birth, where neither parent is a U.S. citizen.
The federal birth-tourism order (Executive Order 14419) defines birth tourism primarily around a foreign national entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth, and certain facilitation of such entry. However, a separate citizenship Executive Order (14418) contains provisions specifically addressing certain commercial surrogate arrangements.
Do not assume automatic citizenship based solely upon the location of birth. Because federal policy has changed and individual circumstances can differ, international Intended Parents should obtain individualized U.S. citizenship advice.
No. Surrogacy4All cannot guarantee citizenship, passport issuance, visas, government documentation or recognition by another country.
Yes. For international Intended Parents, citizenship, immigration, parentage and home-country recognition should ideally be evaluated before embryo transfer.
Yes. Canadian surrogacy and citizenship law has not changed and the U.S. Executive Orders do not apply in Canada. Surrogacy in Canada is altruistic (expense reimbursement only) and a child born in Canada is a Canadian citizen at birth under current Canadian law. Surrogacy4All offers a Canadian program through its Toronto partner clinic, and international Intended Parents may explore both countries in parallel.
No one can say yet. Executive Order 14418 is being challenged in federal court, and President Trump’s earlier 2025 birthright-citizenship order was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara (June 30, 2026). Whether the new order survives that precedent is an open question. Until the courts rule, international Intended Parents should plan on the basis of the policy as it currently stands.
Important: This page provides general educational information and does not constitute legal, immigration, tax or citizenship advice.
Surrogacy4All is not making a legal determination concerning the validity, constitutionality, interpretation or application of any Executive Order to a particular family. Federal and state laws, agency policies, court decisions and foreign-country requirements can change.
Surrogacy4All does not guarantee citizenship, passport issuance, immigration status, visa issuance, admission to the United States, parentage recognition, issuance of governmental documentation, or recognition of a child or Intended Parent by any U.S. or foreign governmental authority.
International Intended Parents should obtain individualized advice from appropriately qualified independent attorneys.
Our job is to listen, to connect the dots between your needs, and to determine how we can best help you have your baby. If you’re asking how much does it cost for a surrogate, we’ll walk you through every step of the process to ensure there are no surprises.
To make an appointment with one of our counselors or physicians, please call (212) 661-7673 or email info@surrogacy4all.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Surrogacy4All is a unique international surrogacy service targeted at providing state of the art IVF and surrogacy services to Intended Parents irrespective of age, sex or color, at the lowest possible cost in the world.
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