The first Gay K-1 Fiance Visa Progress with DOMA repeal on the Horizon (Tim & Keno)

[Jaz&Bry 9]

And species:

Indeed I forgot to enumerate "species",

that´s funny

[Mrs.Presson 16]

Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act

:D

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/26/supreme-court-gay-lesbian-marriage-doma/2394621/

[duraaraa 203]

Great news!!!

Best of luck being the first approved!

[Cyclone 4]

According to the Washington Times article from today you would have to live in a state that recognizes same sex marriage in order to petition someone of the same sex.

[pachacuti 154]

Woo Hoo. I hope someone from my state is first to test this out!! I love seeing rights spread to more an more people. Too bad it doesn't quite make up for the blow to voting rights the day before.

[pro_star 52]

pachacuti, fill me in on that one please...all I've been hearing on the news lately is "AHH CALGARY FLOOD AAHH"

Seriously, I had to rely on facebook to find out about the DOMA/Prop 8 fun.

[hklad 9]

According to the Washington Times article from today you would have to live in a state that recognizes same sex marriage in order to petition someone of the same sex.

According to Immigration Equality, you don't have to live in a marriage equality state to apply as USCIS looks to whether the marriage is validly entered.

"

Do we have to live in a marriage equality state to apply for a green card?

No. If you have a marriage that is valid in the state or country where you were married – regardless of where you live – that marriage makes you eligible to apply for a green card.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) looks to see whether you entered into a valid marriage in the state or country where you married. While some federal benefits may only be available to married couples if you live in a state which recognizes your marriage, fortunately, this is not the case for immigration benefits.

"

http://immigrationequality.org/2013/06/the-end-of-doma-what-your-family-needs-to-know/

A policy memorandum was issued in 2012 for transgender individuals and spoke extensively on the validity of the marriage where performed. So who is correct? Immigration Equality or Washing Times? No one knows yet. We will see what happened in the future and see if there are any policy guidance in the field as well as in BIA or Federal Court if we get that far. But with DOMA gone, it is worth the fight even if the US citizen partner lives in non-marriage equality state.

[Mrs.Presson 16]

News Update:

Gay green card petition approval is US first - lawyer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23140288

[Leono27 3]

hi !!! let us know how you gone, many are in the same way!!!!

[GayK1inTexas 12]

Good luck to all. Wish you the very best. Yep... alot of us anxious about this. Any info we have I hope we can share.

We applied and have NOA1 but the whole issue of living in a state w/o SSM is worrying us. Living in Texas and planning on marrying in Iowa. It seems the immigration lawyers are saying it wont be an issue but would like it not to be such a grey area. Any one with more info on this?

[Leono27 3]

Good luck to all. Wish you the very best. Yep... alot of us anxious about this. Any info we have I hope we can share.

We applied and have NOA1 but the whole issue of living in a state w/o SSM is worrying us. Living in Texas and planning on marrying in Iowa. It seems the immigration lawyers are saying it wont be an issue but would like it not to be such a grey area. Any one with more info on this?

Hello Mr texas, you know my case is the same there is no SSM lousianna but my boyfriend has consulted with an attorney friend and seems it will not be a problem if you show that you're getting married in another state ... if you can schedule an appointment, tickets to another state, hosting ... would be good if you're ready ..

by the way ... what happened to the previous thread? because they closed; (

[rjbntsk 5]

Good luck to all. Wish you the very best. Yep... alot of us anxious about this. Any info we have I hope we can share.

We applied and have NOA1 but the whole issue of living in a state w/o SSM is worrying us. Living in Texas and planning on marrying in Iowa. It seems the immigration lawyers are saying it wont be an issue but would like it not to be such a grey area. Any one with more info on this?

And good luck to you too!

I wouldn't worry - I've consistently had feedback that since immigration is a federal issue, as long as you have a marriage in a State that authorizes it, you'll be fine.

Ultimately living in a State that does not recognize same sex marriages will create interesting issues around State income tax and benefits - I suspect we will see a flurry of legal activity around this over the next few years!

There are one or two other same sex threads on here, would be great to link them if possible so we can all easily share how things are progressing.

[Leono27 3]

agree !!

[GayK1inTexas 12]

Hey Guys! I think you are right about the SSM eligible state issue. I sent an email to a one of the big Immigration Law Firms and got the following:

"Thank you for your message. If you have met your fiancé in person within the last 2 years you can apply for the K-1 fiancé visa to bring him over here.

It does not matter if you live in a state that does not allow gay marriage. You can always get married in a state that does. Because immigration law is federal, once you get married your spouse will be eligible for immigration benefits, no matter where you reside. If you would like to start the process please let us know."

One of the other threads closed by the moderator. Which was ok. They were giving out wrong information about the state issue and really making weird statements. I really got freaked out about some of the info and thats when I sent the email off to the attorney.

Plus the ImmigrationEquality.org site seems to confirm that we are ok.

Really appreciate the support.

And HEY what about England... awesome!

[Leono27 3]

just one of my best friends gay hisself a visa to London last week, and it was just accepted the union of fact, but partnership could file a fiance visa, was quite complicated because they had strong economic requirements and many more documents but rather like the K1, they were sure he would see marriage soon, in fact already knew they would begin to marry in mid-2014, I am very happy for them.