Same-Sex, Bi-National Couples Claim Legal Victory

It’s an interesting intersection of laws.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it will not deny green-card applications to persons of bi-national same sex marriages. The reason: the Defense of Marriage Act.

Some context, from Change.org:

Gay and lesbian American citizens are excluded from the family-based immigration laws, even when they are legally married. While opposite-sex binational couples routinely marry and obtain permanent resident status for the foreign spouse, this is impossible for gay and lesbian couples. As a result, more than 36000 same-sex binational couples are unable to live together in the United States.

But because president Obama has said that he will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a coalition of gay rights activist groups decided to challenge the law that denies green cards to same-sex marriage partners. The decision to no longer deny the cards is a result of that legal action.

In essence, what’s happened is that, according to Christopher Bently, a spokesman for USCIS:

“USCIS has issued guidance to the field asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues.”

The guidance effectively acts as a blanket deferred action for married same-sex bi-national couples, who should no longer be subject to removal from the United States.

It’s a legal limbo, but technically it’s an on-going and indefinite limbo. And at the very least it meas that same-sex couples will not be split through deportation.

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda
[Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com]