Immigration Implications Of Supreme Court’s DOMA Ruling

Court's holding that section 3 of the act is unconstitutional will allow U.S. nationals to sponsor same-sex spouses for immigration benefits.

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—the provision of the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages—is unconstitutional.¹

DOMA, which was signed into law in 1996, precluded same-sex married couples from receiving many of the benefits available under federal law to heterosexual married couples. Because immigration law is federal, one such precluded benefit was the ability to sponsor a spouse for an immigration benefit. While U.S. citizens and permanent residents in heterosexual marriages are permitted to sponsor a spouse from another country to reside legally in the United States, U.S. citizens and permanent residents in same-sex marriages have been unable to do so.