US to process same-sex visa
applications
Kimberly
Bennett , Saturday, August 03, 2013
[JURIST]
Secretary of State John Kerry announced [transcript] Friday
that the US will begin processing same-sex visa applications the same way
opposite-sex visa applications are processed. Speaking at the US embassy in London, Kerry
stated, "As long as a marriage has been performed in the jurisdiction that
recognizes it, then that marriage is valid under US immigration laws. Every
married couple will be treated exactly the same, and that is what we believe is
appropriate." US immigration officials announced [text]
a similar shift in official policy last month, which allows same-sex
partners to receive the same review as opposite-sex couples when filing a
petition with US Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) [official website]. The new visa policy will allow same-sex couples
to travel to the US for work or study once one spouse is issued a visa. Kerry
also added that the measure will allow even same-sex couples applying from
countries that do not legally recognize their marriage to receive equal
treatment as opposite-sex couples when applying for visas in the US.
Same-sex marriage [JURIST
backgrounder] legislation has been passed in a number of states, eventually
finding its way to the US Supreme Court [official
website]. In June the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in two
landmark same-sex marriage cases. In United States v.
Windsor [SCOTUSblog backgrounder], the court ruled [opinion,
PDF] 5-4 that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
[text; JURIST news archive] is unconstitutional.
Under DOMA, couples in same-sex marriages legally recognized by a state were
denied federal benefits extended to married couples. In Hollingsworth v. Perry [SCOTUSblog
backgrounder] the court ruled [opinion,
PDF] 5-4 that the petitioners lacked standing to appeal the district court's
order striking down Proposition 8 [text,
PDF; JURIST news archive], California's
same-sex marriage ban. Despite recent events, some believe [JURIST op-ed]
that same-sex couples have still not reached a guarantee of marriage equality.
Same-Sex
Marriages
Statement
from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on July 1, 2013:
“After
last week’s decision by the Supreme Court holding that Section 3 of the Defense
of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, President Obama directed federal
departments to ensure the decision and its implication for federal benefits for
same-sex legally married couples are implemented swiftly and smoothly. To that
end, effective immediately, I have directed U.S. 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.”
Secretary
Kerry: August 2013 » Announcement on Visa Changes for Same-Sex Couples
Remarks
John
Kerry
Secretary
of State
U.S.
Embassy London
London,
United Kingdom
August
2, 2013
SECRETARY
KERRY: Thank you. Well, thanks for gathering, I know on relatively short
notice. I really appreciate it. One of the – first of all, it’s great to be in
London, and thank you for all of you here. How many of you are Embassy? You all
raise your hands. How many are consular section? A few. Most of them I left
behind in the consular section now, anyway. Well, thank you for joining us.
One
of the most special things that we get to do – you guys, come on in. Let’s get
everybody in here before we start, whoever’s standing in. I know we have one of
the largest consular sections in the world here. I think Moscow may be slightly
larger. But the work that you all do here is really important, because for many
people, you’re the first faces that people get to see of America and the first
impression they get. And hopefully, it can be a good one. Obviously, sometimes
there are visa issues and it doesn’t always turn out the way people want it to
be.
But
we appreciate what you do, and the fact is that one of the greatest
responsibilities of the State Department is to show people who America is, who
we are as people, and what we value as Americans. And that’s what every single
one of you do every single day here at Embassy London, and it’s what our
colleagues do at posts all around the world. I just came from addressing a very
large gathering in Islamabad, Pakistan, a difficult tour of duty, but equally
important in terms of our efforts to promote democracy and promote the values
of human rights and so forth.
So
when I first came here in my first stop, my first foreign stop as Secretary of
State 27 countries ago, I said to everybody that you’re all ambassadors no
matter what you’re doing here, and that is true. When you step out of the
Embassy and go down the street or wherever you live, wherever you are, you’re
an ambassador of our country. And when you treat people with respect and you
give them the best of yourselves, you show them the best of America, and that
means showing them what we believe, what we stand for, and what we share with
the world.
One
of our most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all
people. Now, our history shows that we haven’t always gotten it right. As I
mentioned yesterday in Islamabad, slavery was written into our Constitution
before it was written out. And we are still struggling to make equal the rights
between men and women and to break the glass ceiling and to make sure that all
people are created equal. That is what we try to do, I think wearing our heart
on our sleeve, and sometimes our warts, more than almost any other nation on
the face of the planet. We believe in working to do better and to live up to
these higher values, and we try to do it in a lot of different ways.
Today
is one of those days. I’m very pleased to be able to announce that effective
immediately, when same-sex spouses apply for a visa, the Department of State
will consider that application in the same manner that it will consider the
application of opposite-sex spouses. And here is exactly what this rule means:
If you are the spouse of a U.S. citizen, your visa application will be treated
equally. If you are the spouse of a non-citizen, your visa application will be
treated equally. And if you are in a country that doesn’t recognize your same-sex
marriage, then your visa application will still be treated equally at every
single one of our 222 visa processing centers around the world.
Now,
as long as a marriage has been performed in a jurisdiction that recognizes it
so that it is legal, then that marriage is valid under U.S. immigration laws,
and every married couple will be treated exactly the same, and that is what we
believe is appropriate. Starting next year, that will include same-sex couples
from England and Wales, which just this year passed laws permitting same-sex
marriage that will take effect in 2014.
And
as you know, more than two years ago, President Obama instructed our
Department of Justice to stop enforcing DOMA. Then just a few weeks ago,
the Supreme Court of the United States declared DOMA unconstitutional.
Today, the State Department, which has always been at the forefront of equality
in the federal government, I’m proud to say, is tearing down an unjust and an
unfair barrier that for too long stood in the way of same-sex families being
able to travel as a family to the United States.
I
am proud to say that I voted against DOMA, one of 14 votes against it and the
only person running for election that year who voted against it, and it’s one
of the better votes that I’ve cast. It was the right vote then, it’s the right
vote today. And I’m pleased to make this announcement today because this is one
of those moments where policy and values join together. And I think those of
you in the consular division, more than me or more than any of us back at the
State Department on a daily basis, are going to bet you’d be the people who get
to make this a reality for people.
So
those of you working today in the consular section will make history when you
issue some of the first visas to same-sex couples, and you will be some of the
first faces to welcome them to the United States in an always – a country that
obviously is always trying to tweak and improve and do better by the values
around which we were founded. You share in the great responsibility of making
our country live its values, and you make possible the journey of those who
want to visit our country for that reason and many more.
I
might remark that I get to sit up on the 7th floor of the State Department
looking out straight at the Lincoln Memorial. This year marks the 50th
anniversary of the famous march on Washington and of Martin Luther King’s
unbelievably eloquent and historic plea for equality. So that is where the
dream was declared, the march goes on, this is several more steps in that
march. I can’t thank you enough for your hard work, and as always, I am proud
to call myself your colleague. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
