Family Immigration- Through MarriageLove has no frontier. True love may overcome the differences in nationalities, culture, and language. The final hurdle to a successful marriage between citizens of two different countries is, ironically, immigration law. Everyday, U.S. Citizens and permanent residents decide to marry citizens of another country or individuals from their home country. When these couples decide to establish their family life in the United States, the foreign spouse must obtain a proper immigrant status through appropriate immigration and/or consular processing.
Definition of Marriage We might all know what marriage means by common sense. However, in order to derive immigration benefits, marriage must be valid under the law. Marriage is recognized by the U.S. immigration if it is recognized by the law of the state where it occurs unless it contradicts U.S. public policy. The basic elements of a marriage are: (1) the parties' legal ability to marry each other, (2) mutual consent of the parties, and (3) a marriage contract as required by law. "Husband and husband" and "wife and wife" marriages are now valid as of the Supreme Court's 2013 decision to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Same-sex marriages count for U.S. immigration purposes, so long as they are legally valid in the state or country where they were entered into.
LGBT AND SAME SEX IMMIGRATION |
Can married same sex couples now sponsor his/her spouse for U.S. permanent residency (Green Card)?
Immigration is a federal law and fell within the scope of DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act). The USCIS and DHS have confirmed that U.S. citizen spouses in a same sex marriage can sponsor his or her foreign spouse for permanent residency under the same guidelines as traditional opposite-marriage based cases. What should you do? Get married. If you are in a same sex relationship but you are not married to your partner yet, now is the time to do so. This is because the right to sponsor a spouse for a green card does not take effect until you are legally married in a jurisdiction that permits same sex marriages. Document your relationship. Start gathering documents and evidence that would demonstrate that your relationship to date has been genuine and bona fide. These include joint leases, bank accounts and vacation photos, to name a few. |