Author: Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova
The deadline to reopen cases based on DOMA is approaching.
In June, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court held that same sex marriages should be recognized for the purposes of Federal laws, and this caused expansion of the Immigration benefits to the same sex couples.
Subsequently, USCIS held that all those received denials based solely on Section 3 of DOMA could file their motions to reopen the cases.
March 31, 2014 is the deadline for requesting that USCIS reopen a petition or application based on a marriage between a same-sex couple that was denied prior to February 23, 2011. To request reopening, send an e-mail to USCIS at USCIS-626@uscis.dhs.gov and note that you believe the petition was denied on the basis of DOMA section 3.