On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court dealt DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) a death blow. In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. DHS announced that it would start adjudicating marriage petitions filed by same sex couples and approved its first case within a week following the case. Earlier this week the BIA held that DOMA is no longer an impediment to I-130 petitions filed by same-sex couples who were lawfully married. Matter of Zeleniak, 26 I&N Dec. 158 (BIA 2013).
This is fantastic news, and Windsor is a terrific decision. I am sure that there will still be knots to work out, but this a great beginning.
