Bi-National Same-Sex Couples Celebrate the Supreme Court's Decision to Strike Down DOMA 

Same-Sex Couples Gear up for Immigration Benefits 
 
Greetings!

Last Wednesday, I took a stroll through the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco.  I watched in amusement as thousands of people in a predominantly gay crowd danced and partied jubilantly in the streets. 

 

That morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision to strike down the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defining marriage as only between one man and one woman. 

 

And so, rightfully, people in the Castro, and around the country, celebrated.  The LGBT community celebrated.  Gay rights activists celebrated.  Civil rights activists celebrated. 

 

And immigrants and their U.S. citizen loved ones ... they, too, celebrated.    

 
As a result of the Supreme Court decision in Windsor v. United States ("the DOMA decision") ... SAME SEX COUPLES NOW QUALIFY FOR IMMIGRATION BENEFITS!  

 

Indeed, last Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved the first green card petition for a same-sex couple.  

  

The DOMA decision should open up many opportunities for same-sex couples under immigration laws.  For example, the decision should allow:

  • U.S. citizens to submit fiance visa petitions for their foreign national same sex fiancés to enter the United States, marry, and apply for a green card.
  • The same sex spouse of an applicant for an employment-based green card to apply for a green card if the couple married before filing for the green card;  
  • Same sex spouses of individuals granted asylum (whether due to sexual orientation or on other grounds) to qualify for derivative asylee benefits (ultimately leading to a green card).  

The true scope of the Supreme Court's decision has yet to be determined, but there certainly seem to be countless reasons to celebrate.

 

And for many foreign nationals and their loved ones, the celebration has just begun.

   

 

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Contact Jacob L. Ratzan, P.A. with questions regarding the impact of the DOMA decision on immigration laws.

 

 

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Jacob L. Ratzan, P.A.
1450 Brickell Ave, Suite 2600  
Miami, FL 33131 
Tel: (786) 406-1744 
Fax: (786) 406-1745 
info@ratzanlaw.com