DOMA and Prop 8 Struck Down

In a bold move by the U.S. Supreme Court, both DOMA and Proposition 8 have been struck down. This means that same sex couples may marry in California. It also means nationwide, that U.S. citizen and permanent resident spouses in same sex marriages may petition for permanent residence for their spouse anywhere in the U.S., as long as the marriage was valid where it took place. In the U.S. marriage is lawful in 13 states including now California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington —as well as the District of Columbia. It is also lawful in 13 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Marriages in these countries and states support permanent residence applications anywhere in the U.S.