---
title: "Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage will likely impact immigration, too"
description: "There is an immigration angle to the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act: Some gay and lesbian Americans will now be able to obtain visas for their foreign-born same-sex spouses. That is because the court’s ruling states that federal law cannot make a distinction between opposite-sex married couples and […]"
date: "2013-06-26"
authors:
  - name: "D’Vera Cohn"
    job_title: "Former Senior Writer/Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/dvera-cohn/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/06/26/supreme-courts-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage-will-likely-impact-immigration-too/"
categories:
  - "Immigration & Migration"
  - "Same-Sex Marriage"
  - "Same-Sex Marriage"
  - "Supreme Court"
---

# Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage will likely impact immigration, too

There is an immigration angle to the Supreme Court ruling that [struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/06/26/supreme-courts-doma-ruling-comes-as-majority-now-supports-same-sex-marriage/): Some gay and lesbian Americans will now be able to obtain visas for their foreign-born same-sex spouses.

That is because the [court’s ruling](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/26/us/26windsor-doc.html) states that federal law cannot make a distinction between opposite-sex married couples and same-sex couples living in states where same-sex marriage is legal. According to the court’s ruling, DOMA has had an impact on more than a thousand federal laws and a myriad of federal programs.

It is not yet clear how the court’s decision will be implemented. But some experts say it’s likely to have an impact on same-sex marriages in which one spouse is a non-citizen. In opposite-sex marriages, a U.S.-born or naturalized husband or wife can obtain a green card for an immigrant spouse from the Department of Homeland Security, which issued [273,429 such spousal visas in 2012](http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_lpr_fr_2012_2.pdf). There is no annual quota for such visas.

According to research from the [Williams Institute at UCLA Law School](http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/) there are about 32,000 same-sex couples living the U.S. who are binational—that is, include both a citizen and a non-citizen. (These couples include unmarried and married pairs.) The court decision also removes a potentially contentious issue from the [debate over immigration reform legislation](http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/26/19153847-doma-decision-a-win-for-lgbt-immigration-rights-advocates?lite). If DOMA had been upheld, advocates for same-sex marriage had promised to push for an amendment to extend visas privileges to U.S.-citizens with foreign-born spouses in same-sex marriages. Legislation currently pending in the Senate does not include such a provision.