You may not have heard, but an important change in immigration law happened on June 26, 2013. On this date, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in U.S. v. Windsor. The Windsor case came up as a tax matter. But Windsor isn’t just about taxes, although over $300,000 in federal estate taxes was at stake. It was about the legal definition of marriage. It was about whether a same-sex marriage can be treated differently than marriage between two people of the opposite sex. Ultimately, the Supreme Court held that defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman violated the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and in doing so struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”).
This leaves the path clear for same-sex marriages to be (among many other things affected by federal law) the basis for immigration benefits, especially marriage-based immigrant visas and marriage-based adjustment of status applications.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has, in an admirably prompt fashion, already gone on record as now accepting I-130 petitions from same-sex couples. You can check out the guidance here.
The main thing you need to know if you want to file a petition for immigration benefits based on a same-sex marriage is that the marriage must be legally valid. This means that the marriage must have been performed in a jurisdiction that allowed same-sex marriage at the time of the event. This is sometimes referred to as the “place of celebration” rule. It should not matter if you no longer live in that jurisdiction and currently live with your spouse in a place that does not legally permit same-sex marriage.
A legally valid marriage must be documented, whether by a certificate of marriage issued by a county government as is usually the case in the United States, or whatever is accepted as legal documentation of marriage in the place where it occurred. For marriages abroad, a good place to check what documentation is considered legally sufficient are the websites for local U.S. embassies and consulates. There is usually information for U.S. citizens interested in marrying in that foreign country, including what documents should be issued once the marriage is done.
So, for all those who thought they could not file for immigration benefits for their same-sex partners, the law has changed for the better! If you need more help, advice, or representation in filing your application, contact Tran Law Associates about how to get your case started.
Tags: adjustment of status, Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, I-130, immigration, legally valid marriage, marriage, place of celebration, same-sex marriage, U.S. v. Windsor, United States v. Windsor, Windsor