The United States will immediately begin giving visa applications from same-sex spouses the same preferential consideration typically granted to opposite-sex spouses, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday.
The policy change means that a foreign national in a legal same-sex marriage with an American citizen can more easily acquire a U.S. entry visa and that applications from legally wed foreign gay couples will be considered jointly.
"If you're the spouse of a U.S. citizen, your visa application will be treated equally. If you're the spouse of a non-citizen, your visa application will be treated equally," Kerry said. "As long as a marriage has been performed in a jurisdiction that recognizes it, so that it is legal, then that marriage is valid under U.S. immigration laws, and every married couple will be treated exactly the same," Kerry said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.