Same Sex Marriage Advice

Hi all. I am 26 years old and my girlfriend is an American. We met in New Zealand but after our visas finished I came home to Ireland and she went home to California. We are now trying to find a way that I can legally work in the US. We have discussed getting married but I want to know if same sex marriage has full federal rights in the states. If we were to marry would it be the exact same as a regular marriage or would there be complications for me trying to get a green card?

Any other advice on how to legally work in the US would be amazing. Are there any recruitment companies that specialise in visa sponsorships etc? I have a science degree but no experience in my field and tons of managerial experience in retail and hospitality.

Long distance is awful..any advice would be amazing!!

MarkAnthony

Same sex marriage isn't AFAIK federal. It's up to the individual states to decide although it seems that more and more states are making progress, Alabama being the latest development. I'm not following the legal situation closely.

I'd also be surprised if it was as simple as marriage, as that would open the US up to sham marriages but again I'm not conversant in US immigration law. There are many services you can engage to help you with emigration. I'd suggest some sort of temporary visa to start off with though.

spideog7

Ephraim Slow Miter wrote: »

Hi all. I am 26 years old and my girlfriend is an American. We met in New Zealand but after our visas finished I came home to Ireland and she went home to California. We are now trying to find a way that I can legally work in the US. We have discussed getting married but I want to know if same sex marriage has full federal rights in the states. If we were to marry would it be the exact same as a regular marriage or would there be complications for me trying to get a green card?

Any other advice on how to legally work in the US would be amazing. Are there any recruitment companies that specialise in visa sponsorships etc? I have a science degree but no experience in my field and tons of managerial experience in retail and hospitality.

Long distance is awful..any advice would be amazing!!

Yes same sex marriages are entitled to full federal rights in the US since DOMA was struck down in 2013. You can't actually get married in every state for now, but the supreme court is going to rule on that in the next few months (I believe you can get married in CA anyway though).

Since you can't get married in Ireland you would have to apply for a fiancee visa so you could get married in the US (several threads on that here).

The interview\application process is fairly thorough to limit the marriage of convenience issue, it's also a pretty serious felony to lie on those documents.

I don't know what the process is like for same sex marriages, last I heard they hadn't fully issued guidelines on it, but I suspect it isn't much different.

hfallada

AFAIK you can get married in some states, but its not federal recognised yet. It maybe wait until the final SSM cases are over in may. At that stage all states will have ruled for or against SSM. But probably all states will rule in favour of it.

I know last year they weren't allowing SSM people the right to live in the country. So a lot of Americans moved to London where you could have a civil partnership and your other half could easily get a visa to live.

OP if they legalise SSM in the us. They will want prove of your relationship over a long period eg phone calls, holidays ( you might want to visit her or she visit you). But I can't see you getting a visa to live with her easily.

Does she have any European grandparents or parents that see could get a passport to live in Europe with you? Also if SSM is legalised here. Ireland is famous in Europe for not questioning a non-eu citizens marrying an EU citizen.

silja

As long as your girlfriend lives in a state that allows same sex marriage, you an get a visa (K1 fiancee visa to get married there, or CR-1 spousal visa if already married).

Work visas would depend on what sort of training and experience you have?

iusedtoknow

silja wrote: »

As long as your girlfriend lives in a state that allows same sex marriage, you an get a visa (K1 fiancee visa to get married there, or CR-1 spousal visa if already married).

Work visas would depend on what sort of training and experience you have?

One of my colleagues just bought her wife to be in on the K1 visa in California. While some states do not recognize same sex marriage - it is recognized for immigration purposes....even in states that do not recognize the union

http://www.uscis.gov/family/same-sex-marriages

As a side point, the supreme court are due to rule in June as to whether or not Same Sex unions will be federal or not. Either way - at least in CA...it won't be going away any time soon!

spideog7

iusedtoknow wrote: »

One of my colleagues just bought her wife to be in on the K1 visa in California. While some states do not recognize same sex marriage - it is recognized for immigration purposes....even in states that do not recognize the union

http://www.uscis.gov/family/same-sex-marriages

True but you have to actually be married in a state that does recognise it (ie you have to be legally married). I don't know if there are state residency requirements to get a marriage licence or not. Either way that wouldn't apply to the OP since CA does recognise it.

iusedtoknow wrote: »

As a side point, the supreme court are due to rule in June as to whether or not Same Sex unions will be federal or not. Either way - at least in CA...it won't be going away any time soon!

This could just be semantics but AFAIK there is no such thing as a federal marriage is there? This ruling would only require the individual states to comply with federal law. The marriage would still have to take place under the jurisdiction and requirements of an individual state.

MadsL

Couple of points, save every scrap of evidence that you are a relationship, emails, facebook messages, cards, letters etc.

Make sure she has paid any taxes owing to the US Government.

él statutorio

Follow the advice above,

Two female friends of mine (1 irish, 1 American) Got married in NYC last year.

Lots of paperwork when it came to getting the work visa but they had prepared and it all worked out.

Enigma365

AFAIK you can get married in some states, but its not federal recognised yet.

Just to clarify and to back up Spideog7's comment - same sex marriage is now fully recognised on a federal level for immigration.

Currently only 36 states(including California) allow gay marriages to be performed but any legal same sex marriage performed in those 36 states or abroad, will be fully recognised by the federal government no matter which state you choose to live in.