CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Immigration officials say they have lifted the moratorium on green card cases for binational married couples, and they will continue to enforce the current law which does not permit same-sex married couples the same immigration rights as heterosexual married couples. This news comes just two days after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that action on such cases would be halted pending further legal guidance.
Wednesday morning USCIS press secretary Christopher S. Bentley told The Advocate that the agency had received legal guidance to lift the hold it had issued Monday. The guidance was issued in the form of written communications from the Office of the General Counsel at Department of Homeland Security (USCIS is a component of DHS).
Bentley declined to release any of the written documents at this time, saying it was privileged communication. He emphasized that the official policy itself within DHS had never changed.
"The cases were held while we were waiting for legal guidance," Bentley said. "There's no need to hold the cases any longer."
Legal advocates, who have increasingly argued that green card applications and deportation
proceedings of married gay couples should be put on hold pending
resolution of the Defense of Marriage Act's constitutionality, had celebrated recent statements from immigration officials as a
promising step toward bringing parity to the system for LGBT individuals.
According to a Friday Newsweek/The Daily Beast piece, representatives for district immigration offices in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., had recently informed members of a local American Immigration Lawyers Association chapter that all cases regarding married gay couples would be put on hold.
Bentley said that as a result of the legal guidance from DHS, district offices do not have the authority to put a hold on all such cases. Immigration cases will continue to be handled on a case-by-case basis. "It's business as usual," Bentley said.
"This regrettable decision reverses a policy of abeyance that was already in place in at least two USCIS District Offices. While DOMA remains the law of the land, the policy of holding applications by married gay and lesbian binational couples in abeyance is the ideal interim remedy to provide necessary protection to those binational couples and is consistent with enforcing DOMA," immigration attorney Lavi Soloway told The Advocate in a statement. "While these applications cannot be approved today, none of them should be denied. We must continue to advocate strenuously for an abeyance policy and for a moratorium on the deportation of spouses of gay and lesbian Americans. It is clear that the administration has the discretion to halt deportations and put processing of "green card" cases on hold temporarily while work continues to repeal DOMA. This administration should work immediately to develop remedies to ensure that binational couples are not torn apart because of a law that the President and the Attorney General have determined is unconstitutional."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Biden will hammer Trump over abortion bans in Florida speech
April 23 2024 5:00 AM
Tristan Snell, who brought down Trump University, sees conviction in hush money case
April 22 2024 7:36 PM
Joe Biden admin marks Earth Day with major environmental initiatives
April 22 2024 4:18 PM
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: 'We want to end' trans and gender nonconforming teachers
April 22 2024 4:13 PM
Nonbinary 17-year-old killed two years after being reported missing
April 22 2024 3:46 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedIndulge in luxury and sensuality with The Pride Store’s Taurus gift guide
April 22 2024 11:46 AM
The gay man leading the Earth Day Initiative offers hope for the future
April 22 2024 9:00 AM
Pattie Gonia takes drag and fierceness to Capitol Hill to voice environmental concerns
April 22 2024 8:23 AM
Jodie Foster leaves her mark in cement at L.A.'s Chinese Theatre
April 22 2024 7:55 AM
Climate change has a bigger impact on LGBTQ+ couples than straight couples. Here's how
April 22 2024 7:42 AM