ANGELES CITY- The Department of Tourism’s regional director for Central Luzon said yesterday that immigration to the US would now be easier for Filipinos with gay or homosexual lovers with American citizenship as a result of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision that junked the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Ronaldo Tiotico, in an email, asked local media “to accommodate” a statement from Filipino-American lawyer Dennis Chua of the Chua, Tinsay and Vega (CTV) law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento in the US, as well as in Manila, explaining the “benefits” of the US court verdict that virtually upheld same-sex marriages in the US.
Chua, whom Tiotuico identified as his brother-in-law, said immigration would now be easier for Filipino gay lovers of American citizens.
The Catholic Church, however, has remained steadfast against the same sex marriage as immoral and against the natural moral law.
Tiotuico’s email, titled “US Immigration Benefits for Same Sex Couples,” asked media to “accommodate” the statement of Chua on the decision of the US Supreme Court last June 25, junking DOMA which limited marriage to members of the opposite sexes.
His email came on the heels of the July 4 commemoration of Filipino-American Friendship Day in this city which had hosted the US air force for decades up to 1991. Despite the departure of the US military, Angeles has continued to be a favorite destination not only of Americans, but also of other nationalities, many of whom get married to Filipinos and settle here.
In a telephone interview, Tiotuico explained that while same-sex marriages are not legal in the Philippines, Filipinos can now be petitioned for immigration to the US by their American fiances or fiancees.
His email contained a statement from Chua saying that “with this new decision, the (US) Court gave same-sex married couples access to the full range of benefits that are available to heterosexual spouses under some 1,000 federal laws and regulations, including those related to: Social Security, housing, taxes, criminal sanctions, copyright, and veterans’ benefits.”
Chua noted that “Secretary Janet Napolitano of the US Department of Homeland Security recently announced that (her) department will now allow legally married U.S. citizens to petition for a green card for their same-sex spouses the same way heterosexual married couples are allowed.”
“The new Supreme Court ruling and the latest pronouncement of Secretary Napolitano have paved the way for US citizens to file immigration petitions for their loved ones,” he stressed.
Chua also said that 15 other countries also now allow same-sex marriages and that the US government recognizes such marriages contracted in these countries.
“The US Department of Homeland Security will accept marriages celebrated in any of these countries and jurisdictions so long as they have been validly entered into under the laws of that country or US state.
Spouses of US citizens may now either file for applications for adjustment of status if they are here in the US and eligible, or undergo visa processing if they are outside the United States,” he said.
While gay marriages in the Philippines are not legal, Chua noted that “US citizens may now file fiancé petitions so they could be reunited with their loved ones.”
The countries that allow same-sex marriages include Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay. While same sex marriages are legal in some jurisdictions in Mexico and the US.
In the United States, same sex marriage is legally recognized in the states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The District of Columbia and five Native American tribes have also legalized same sex marriage.
