Abstract
Family is a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy. The United States grants green cards to every immigrant who is validly married to a U.S. citizen—unless the marriage is to someone of the same sex. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) denies federal recognition of so-called samesex marriages. Recent social, political, judicial, and legislative trends suggest the eventual abrogation of DOMA. Even so, sponsorship for same-sex couples is not automatic and will ultimately depend on how DOMA’s demise is achieved. This Article illuminates a clear path for same-sex binational couples to receive equal immigration benefits in a post-DOMA world. However, if DOMA remains law, same-sex binational couples must turn toward comprehensive immigration reform. The Uniting American Families Act is a proposed piece of legislation that provides a sponsorship route that is unaffected by DOMA, but its requirements may prove difficult for same-sex binational families to satisfy. Thus, for the more than 36, 000 same-sex binational couples who face decisions like separation or exile, an end of DOMA is the preferred—but not exclusive—solution for granting sponsorship rights to all families
Recommended Citation
Jay Strozdas,
Trendlines: Court Decisions, Proposed Legislation, and Their Likely Impact on Binational Same-Sex Families ,
44 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 1339
(2011).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol44/iss4/2
