International Intended Parents
Become a Parent Through International Surrogacy in the United States
If you’re considering surrogacy in the United States from another country, you probably have a lot of questions about the process, the legal requirements, and what it’s like to work with an international surrogacy agency.
For over 30 years, we’ve helped intended parents build their families through surrogacy and comprehensive support, and today, Circle families live in 70 countries around the world. Some of our team members have grown their families through international surrogacy themselves and know firsthand what this journey looks and feels like. We’ll walk alongside you through every legal, medical, and emotional milestone, from the day you contact us until you travel home with your baby.
Where Is the Best Place for International Surrogacy?
The United States is widely considered to be the ideal country for surrogacy services. International parents prefer the United States due to its favorable legal, societal and medical conditions, and 48 of 50 U.S. states permit commercial surrogacy.
Popular Markets Where Parents Seek Surrogacy Services
Circle has worked with intended parents from all over the world (70 countries) for decades. Some of the more popular countries for international surrogacy include:
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United Kingdom
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Australia
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China
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Germany
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Singapore
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Scandinavia
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France
Why International Intended Parents Choose Us
At Circle, our success with international intended parents is based on the amount of time we spend addressing every country's needs and legal circumstances. With legal contacts in most nations and partnerships with local organizations and lawyers, we're able to ensure that we're providing our clients with a complete solution to safely return home after the birth of their child(ren).
What Is International Surrogacy?
International surrogacy is the process of partnering with a surrogate in another country to build your family. For intended parents living outside the United States, choosing a U.S. agency means your child is born a U.S. citizen with the legal protections that come with it, and you can return home with documented parental rights. When working with a reputable U.S. agency like Circle, gestational surrogacy in the United States is legal, safe, and secure for international intended parents.
Why Intended Parents Choose the U.S. for Surrogacy
The United States is widely considered to be the ideal country for surrogacy programs. International parents prefer the United States due to its favorable legal, societal, and medical conditions, and 48 of 50 U.S. states allow compensated surrogacy.
Popular Locations Where Parents Seek Surrogacy Programs
Circle has worked with intended parents from all over the world (70 countries) for decades. Some of the more popular countries for international surrogacy include:
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United Kingdom
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Australia
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China
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Germany
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Singapore
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Scandinavia
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France
For LGBTQIA+ intended parents in particular, the U.S. offers legal recognition and protections that many countries simply don’t offer, including the ability to establish full parental rights regardless of sexual orientation or marital status.
Why International Intended Parents Choose Circle
Our success with international intended parents is based on the amount of time we spend addressing every country's needs and legal circumstances. With legal contacts in most nations and partnerships with local organizations and lawyers, we're able to ensure that we're providing our intended parents with a complete solution to safely return home after the birth of their baby.
Reasons international intended parents choose us include:
Complete in-house support, from start to finish: Managing a surrogacy journey from overseas is complex. Our in-house team includes lawyers, licensed mental health professionals, financial experts, and program coordinators who handle all the details so you can focus on building your family.
Fixed-cost international surrogacy program: Our Journey Protection™ Program offers a fixed cost for your journey, which includes agency fees, surrogate compensation, and legal fees. There are no surprise fees or cost increases, no matter what happens.
Team with firsthand understanding: With nearly half of our team having firsthand experience with surrogacy, IVF, or adoption, we understand the ups and downs that naturally come with building your family through surrogacy. This understanding is at the heart of everything we do — how we communicate with you, plan the journey, and support you through every milestone.
Strong network of medical partners: We know that picking a fertility clinic to work with your surrogate from another country isn’t easy, but we’re here to make it easier. We partner with nearly 400 clinics across the U.S., including the top 10 fertility clinics, and coordinate the entire medical process.
3 Benefits of Choosing Us as Your United States Surrogacy Agency
Starting an international surrogacy journey takes a lot of trust — and we take that seriously. Here are three important benefits of choosing us as your U.S. surrogacy agency:
1. Your Child Is a U.S. Citizen
Any child born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. Your baby will receive a U.S. birth certificate and is entitled to a U.S. passport for travel purposes (you will obtain your baby’s passport after birth in order to return to your home country).
Our in-house legal team handles all the work to establish your parentage (either via a pre-birth order, post-birth order, or possibly through a second parent adoption). Regardless of which path applies to your situation, you will be the sole legal and physical parents under American law. By establishing the rights of parentage in the United States, you can travel home safely and securely. Some countries — such as Spain, Sweden, and Germany (amongst others) — accept the U.S. Declaration of Parentage.
Conversely, a child born with an agency in a country other than your home country or the U.S. may not be considered a citizen. This can be challenging because you will need to establish citizenship and/or parentage under your home country prior to leaving the country in which your baby was born, making it difficult to get travel papers or a passport to return to your home country. Your child cannot fly home without a passport or valid travel documents.
Any child born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. Your baby will receive a U.S. birth certificate and is entitled to a U.S. passport for travel purposes (you will obtain your baby’s passport after birth in order to return to your home country). Your surrogacy lawyers will do the legal work to establish your parentage (either via a Pre-Birth Order, post-birth order or possibly through a second parent adoption). You will be the sole legal and physical parents under American law. By establishing the rights of parentage in the United States, you can travel home safely and securely. Some countries – such as Spain, Sweden and Germany (amongst others) – accept the U.S Declaration of Parentage. Conversely, a child born with an agency in a country other than your home country or the U.S., is not considered a citizen. This can be challenging because you will need to establish citizenship and/or parentage under your home country prior to leaving the country in which your baby was born, making it difficult to get travel papers or a passport to return to your home country. Your child cannot fly home without a passport.
2. Surrogates Are Fully Screened and Get the Best Medical Care
Surrogate screening is important because it helps confirm that a surrogate is qualified before she’s matched with you. We follow strict screening and qualification guidelines for women who are interested in becoming surrogates to make sure they’re ready for the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of surrogacy. Out of the 150,000+ applicants screened, we accepted only the top 4% of surrogates into our program.
Surrogate applicants are fully vetted in our 3-step screening process, which includes an in-depth application, medical screening, and psychological testing. All of our surrogates live in the United States, have strong support systems, and are financially stable. They have access to the most advanced medical care and the world’s top hospitals. Read more about surrogate screening.
3. Financial Security
When you choose Circle for your U.S. surrogacy journey, your money is safe. For over 30 years and for 5,000+ clients, we’ve successfully safeguarded surrogacy funds with our fully insured and audited escrow program.
Our Journey Protection™ Escrow program protects your finances at every step using a multi-layered security approach that includes third-party audits and enterprise-grade cybersecurity. Additionally, the money you send us is held in a bonded escrow account only at regulated and approved financial institutions. That means your money is safeguarded as you send it and while it sits in the account, no matter where you are in the world.
How Do I Become a Parent Through Surrogacy in the United States?
We understand that the idea of coming to another country for surrogacy to grow your family can seem intimidating, and feel as if there are quite a few “unknowns” about what the process is like. Our experienced team is happy to walk alongside you on your surrogacy journey.
We also have international parents through surrogacy on staff who are happy to answer your questions and share their experiences about bonding with a surrogate, traveling with a newborn, and finding confidence in the process.
With that in mind, here’s an overview of our five-step surrogacy process and what to expect as international intended parents:
1. Consultation and sign on
First, you’ll meet with our team, where we’ll talk through your goals, answer any questions you have, and simply get to know each other. Once you're ready to move forward, you’ll sign an agreement to officially begin your surrogacy journey with us.
2. Matching with your surrogate
The next step is to get matched with a surrogate who fits your preferences and priorities. MatchMade™ is Circle's proprietary matching process, built around three components: preparing intended parents for the journey ahead, finding genuine compatibility beyond what's visible on paper, and laying the foundation for a healthy surrogate relationship from the first meeting and beyond.
3. Medical screening and surrogate contract
The third step of the journey is made up of many mini-milestones, including your surrogate’s medical screening, working with one of our lawyers to draft the surrogacy contract, and the embryo transfer. This stage is also a good time to consult with an immigration lawyer in your home country to make sure everything’s in order for when it’s time to bring your baby home.
4. Surrogate pregnancy
Living in another country during your surrogate’s pregnancy can be one of the harder parts of international surrogacy, but we'll keep you informed and connected all while your baby grows. We’ll also help you prepare for delivery day by creating a birth plan with you and your surrogate that reflects both of your preferences.
5. Parenthood and the journey back home
This is the stage where you finally hold your baby in your arms and begin a new chapter. We’ll be there to support you in the early days, answering any questions you have, and helping you with tasks like getting your baby’s passport.
How Do I Become a Parent Through Surrogacy in the United States?
We understand the idea of coming to another country for surrogacy to grow your family can seem intimidating, and feel as if there are quite a few “unknowns” about what the process is like. Our experienced team would be happy to guide you on your surrogacy journey. Circle also has international parents through surrogacy on staff who are happy to answer your questions and share their experiences about bonding with a surrogate, traveling with a newborn and finding confidence in the process.
FAQs About Surrogacy in the U.S.
Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions about surrogacy in the United States if you live internationally. You can read our full list of FAQs about the general surrogacy process from intended parents here.
Ideally, international intended parents come to the United States 2-3 times (for embryo creation at the fertility center and the eventual delivery of their child). We encourage our international intended parents to try to visit at least one additional time if possible; most parents will choose to come for the embryo transfer and/or the anatomy scan (usually around 16-20 weeks).
This varies based on the legal work required and the procedures in the state in which your child was delivered. As a general rule, we advise international intended parents to plan on returning home after approximately 4 weeks to allow ample time for any DNA testing (if required by your country), court proceedings, the issuance of any birth certificates, and the application for any visas and/or passports. We will guide you through this process. Depending on legal work, you may be able to go home sooner. Read more about traveling with a newborn in our blog post.
Because of a legal principle known as jus soli, babies born in the United States are automatically entitled to U.S. citizenship and U.S. passports, regardless of whether the intended parents are themselves U.S. citizens. As a result, most intended parents who pursue American surrogacy are able to return home with their children without first obtaining a passport from their native country.
Nevertheless, some international intended parents may choose to — or be required to — obtain either passports or temporary visas for their children at a local consulate in the United States in order to return home after the birth. Intended parents should consult with immigration attorneys in their native countries for information about the best procedures for returning home with their children. We will assist you in getting a U.S. passport through one of our partners, an expert in navigating the passport system.
This depends on the laws in your home country — but with families in 70 countries, we’ve helped parents navigate a wide range of legal situations. While countries like Germany and Spain accept the U.S. Declaration of Parentage directly, others require additional legal steps. Since every country is different, we recommend consulting with an immigration attorney in your home country early in the journey. We also have connections with lawyers around the globe to help guide you through your country’s requirements.
No, Circle does not charge additional fees to international intended parents. Our program fees are the same for all clients. International parents should also factor in travel costs to the U.S., as well as potential costs for newborn medical insurance and any legal work required in their home country.
Ready to Start Your International Surrogacy Journey?
From helping you navigate your country’s legal requirements to supporting you through the many different emotions you may experience along the way, we’re here for you at every step. Reach out to us today to learn more about our international surrogacy program or begin your surrogacy journey.