Tag Archive doma

ByPhillip Kim

Answers to Your Immigration Questions on Same-Sex Marriage

If your petition was previously denied based on DOMA section 3, USCIS will now reopen those applications for review. Please note, you will need to notify USCIS by March 31, 2014, if your I-130 was denied before February 23, 2011. Requesting to consider reopening your petition will be done at no charge, but fees to file an application will still apply.

Same-sex marriages will receive the same immigration benefits as those of opposite sex. The five year residence period for naturalization may be reduced to three years if you have been living in marital union with a U.S. citizen spouse the same way that applies for opposite sex spouses.

ByPhillip Kim

Supreme Court Implements Ruling on Defense of Marriage Act

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Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano states addresses that the Supreme Court will ensure the implementation of last week’s ruling that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. President Obama has taken measures to enforce this ruling and handle implications for federal benefits of same-sex marriages. Effective immediately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will review immigration visa petitions filed by same-sex spouses equally as those filed by opposite-sex couples.