Gay Couples Sue for Green Cards in Brooklyn
CADMAN PLAZA EAST (AP) — Immigration advocates say a federal law that prevents married gay couples from sponsoring their spouses for green cards violates their constitutional rights.
They’re suing the U.S. government in Brooklyn on behalf of five legally married gay couples. The suit challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to married gay couples.
The group Immigration Equality says the couples are denied immigration rights afforded to other families. Advocates say if they were heterosexual couples, the government would recognize the foreign spouse as an immediate relative of the U.S. citizen.