It has been almost two years since the U.S. Supreme Court found DOMA unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor, and opened the door for LGBT couples to be eligible for a variety of immigration benefits, including the ability to sponsor...
We previously wrote about the immigration benefits available to same-sex couples that convert their civil unions to marriages based on the new Illinois law. Under that Illinois law, couples wishing to convert their civil unions must do so by May...
With the month of June comes warmth, sunshine, the first days of summer, and in 2014… marriage equality in the state of Illinois. That’s right, as of June 1, 2014, same sex couples can legally marry in Illinois. This may...
On May 6, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released training materials related to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor to strike down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. The American Immigration Lawyers...
Until the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 26, 2013, foreign nationals in deportation proceedings were not able to rely on their same-sex relationship to help them stay in the U.S. (Read our previous blog post on the Court’s decision...
This past Friday, a Federal Judge in Chicago ordered the Cook County Clerk to immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This follows the Illinois legislature’s passage of a law permitting same-sex marriage in Illinois on November 5, 2013....
Historic law to become effective on June 1, 2014 Today Illinois’ governor Pat Quinn will sign the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act into law, which passed the Illinois legislature November 5, 2013. The bill is scheduled to be signed...
To date, no guidance from Customs & Border Protection (CBP) about DOMA decision's effect on protocol As has been widely reported, on June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)...