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July 1, 2013

First Green Card For Gay Husband

With section 3 of DOMA out of the way, the United States has granted a green card to Traian Popov, a Bulgarian who lives with his husband, Julian Marsh in Fort Lauderdale. Although he has his green card, their gay cards may be in question now because the historic news reached them as they were dining at a Red Lobster, oh my heavens! It was enough to make a lawyer cry!

The approval came so fast that it took the couple's immigration lawyer, Lavi Soloway, by surprise. Mr. Soloway, who represents many same-sex couples, said he received the official message while he was attending the annual conference in San Francisco of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

"I thought, 'Am I reading this wrong?'" Mr. Soloway said in an interview on Saturday. Although it was a professional setting, he said, he began to weep with emotion when he realized the significance of the notice.

For the last two years, the [United States Immigration and Citizenship Services] has kept a list of same-sex couples whose green card petitions were denied, the officials said, anticipating that the Supreme Court would eventually weigh in on DOMA. Those denials will now be reversed without couples having to present new applications, if no other issues have arisen. Gay couples with no denials, like Mr. Marsh and Mr. Popov, will move through the system at the same pace as traditional spouses, officials said.

Filed under Gay Issues | permalink | July 1, 2013 at 10:23 AM

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