The Obama administration has avoided ruling on green card petitions made by married gay couples while the challenges to DOMA were working their way through the courts.
For the first time ever the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service has approved a green card application for a married gay couple. According to The DOMA Project, “Julian Marsh and Traian Povov received notice on their application two days after the Supreme Court ruled to strike down the Defense Of Marriage Act, the federal law that barred the government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states.” The green card had been applied for by Marsh, who is a US citizen, before the court ruled on DOMA. His husband, Popov, is from Bulgaria.
The couple’s attorney, Lavi Soloway, who is also a founder of The DOMA Project told BuzzFeed, “The approval of this petition demonstrates that the Obama administration’s commitment to recognizing same-sex couples’ marriages after the Supreme Court ruling is now a reality on the ground. We expect additional approvals of green card applications and petitions in the coming days.”
Photo: The DOMA Project Press Release