A married gay couple from Maryland has sued the U.S. State Department for refusing to recognize their daughter, who was born in Canada, as a U.S. Citizen.

Roee and Adiel Kiviti married in 2013 in California.

The couple welcomed their daughter, Kessem Kiviti, in February via surrogacy in Canada.

The State Department has declared that Kessem was “born out of wedlock” and has denied her U.S. citizenship.

Adiel became a citizen in January after immigrating from Israel. While both fathers are U.S. citizens, the State Department is ignoring Roee's status because he does not have a biological connection to his daughter. The government said that Adiel has not met a residency requirement of five years.

The Kivitis are represented by Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis.

“This is a fight for marriage equality. It is a fight for the fundamental right of citizenship,” Aaron C. Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality, said in a statement. “By refusing to recognize their rights as a married couple, the State Department is treating Roee and Adiel as second-class citizens and treating Kessem as if she is not a citizen at all. The administration has made abundantly clear it will ignore the law and Constitution. We will not stand for it.”

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Maryland.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that same-sex couples are entitled to the same constellation of benefits linked to marriage as different-sex couples,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior attorney at Lambda Legal. “This is not only unlawful, it is also cruel and un-American.”

The case is similar to what happened to another gay couple from Georgia. Immigration Equality and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in that case in July.