As per the US Supreme Court’s ruling in the month of July this year, the DOMA(Defense of Marriage Act) has been rendered to be unconstitutional.
So, this simply means recognition of same-sex marriages as legal by the US government.
US has given a decision on same-sex marriages as being legal and this is a great news for aspiring US fiancée visa petitioners.
Same benefits for US Same-sex spouses as opposite sex spouses—With the decision by the US Supreme Court rendering same-sex marriages legal, same-sex spouses will now be able to enjoy same rights and benefits as available to opposite sex spouses.
This simply means that US citizens can now use US immigrant visas for their same-sex married partner/spouse.
In addition, same sex spouses of foreigners coming to the US on non-immigrant working visas or US investor visas can be considered as their dependents for the purpose of US immigration.
And talking of rights/benefits now available to same-sex married partners/spouses, almost all benefits as well as liabilities available to opposite sex spouses will be available now to same-sex partners like pension rights, widow/widower benefits, estate inheritance, social security benefits etc.
The only point worth consideration is that all such rights/benefits being extended to same-sex partners are subject to the marriage being legal in the US.
Options for foreigners from nations where same-sex marriage is not lawful—Now let us see what are the options available for nationals of countries in which same-sex marriage is still not considered legal. One such nation being the Philippines. Well, for such foreigners, a good and a viable option is use US fiancé visa petition for bringing their same sex partner to the US.
So, all they need to do is get a US fiancée visa(it takes anything between five to eight months for processing of US fiancée visa). In case they are not married still, they can solemnize their wedding in any US state considering same-sex marriage as legal.
After getting in the US, the same-sex partners must marry within a period of 90 days following which the fiancée can make an application for adjustment of his or her US status for securing US immigrant visa.
Be wary of fraudsters–The only thing worth notable is that one should not fall prey to the unscrupulous persons/agencies for getting US immigrant visas or US fiancée visas.