Business Immigration Insights

The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) has now issued FAQs for handling of same-sex spouses in both the immigrant (green card) and nonimmigrant (temporary visa) categories, following the Supreme Court’s finding, in Windsor v. United States, that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.  Effective immediately, DOS will treat same-sex spouses and their children identically to opposite-sex spouses and their children.  This means that same-sex spouses whose marriages, whether foreign or domestic, are legally recognized where they occurred are now ...

Following the recent Supreme Court ruling holding the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued guidance on the filing of same-sex marriage family-based immigrant visa petitions.  The guidance instructs the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to “review immigration visa petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse.”  The DHS FAQs can be found here.

The State Department has yet to issue guidance on the adjudication of nonimmigrant visa ...