Kerry says same-sex couples will be treated equally at all visa processing centers. | Reuters Kerry: Gay couple visas now issued

The United States will immediately begin issuing immigrant visas to same-sex couples, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Friday.

Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in London, Kerry said the applications will be given the same consideration as heterosexual couples.


“If you are the spouse of a U.S. citizen, your visa application will be treated equally. If you are the spouse of a non-citizen, your visa application will be treated equally. If you are in a country that doesn’t recognize your same-sex marriage, then your visa application will still be treated equally at every single one of our 222 visa processing centers around the world,” he said.

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As long as the marriage is valid in the jurisdiction, either U.S. or foreign country where it took place, it is valid for immigration purposes, the State Department said in statement. An engaged couple who cannot marry in the foreign fiancé’s country can apply for a fiancé(e) (K) visa.

Kerry said the change is as a result of the June ruling by the Supreme Court overturning a provision related to federal benefits of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Rep. Eliot Engel, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee called the decision “the right thing to do.”

“No one who is legally married should be denied a visa simply because of the gender of their spouse. This is one of the first steps in bringing the functions of the federal government in line with the repeal of DOMA and ensuring equality in benefits for all Americans,” Engel said in a statement. “This rights an unjustifiable wrong, however, there is more that both the Administration and Congress must do to end discrimination in all federal benefits for same-sex married couples.”