Visa status if legal status of marriage changes

Hello,

Hope everyone is ok.

We're wondering what happens to Beth's visa status and the application process if the law is changed in the US so that our marriage is no longer valid.

We deliberately got married in Illinois as this state had recognised same-sex marriage before the supreme court ruling changed this across the whole country. We thought this would be safer than other states, but the situation seems increasingly precarious.

Should we get married in the UK as well to protect ourselves against this? Do you know if we could then proceed with the same five year process that we are on?

With thanks,
Emily

I think in your case your marriage is probably safe because you got married in a state that legalized same-sex marriage on their own accord prior to the 2015 ruling that made same-sex marriage legal across the nation. It's exceedingly unlikely (if even possible) that the SCOTUS (and since it was their ruling no lower court could overturn that precedent on their own) would rule that states cannot have same-sex marriage even if they wanted to. What could happen, especially if Amy Coney Barrett gets confirmed, is that the high court will rule that states cannot be forced to perform (or maybe recognize) same-sex marriages (and we'd be back to where we were before 2015). (The court could also overturn the 2013 ruling that the federal government must recognize state-sanctioned same-sex marriages but that is a little less likely - for you that could potentially mean you couldn't sponsor your partner to come to the US if you wanted to move back there together.)

Even with all that, there is the question from the UK's perspective on whether they'd still honor a marriage that was voided in another country for a reason that would not have voided the marriage there.

I think in your case your marriage is probably safe because you got married in a state that legalized same-sex marriage on their own accord prior to the 2015 ruling that made same-sex marriage legal across the nation. It's exceedingly unlikely (if even possible) that the SCOTUS (and since it was their ruling no lower court could overturn that precedent on their own) would rule that states cannot have same-sex marriage even if they wanted to. What could happen, especially if Amy Coney Barrett gets confirmed, is that the high court will rule that states cannot be forced to perform (or maybe recognize) same-sex marriages (and we'd be back to where we were before 2015). (The court could also overturn the 2013 ruling that the federal government must recognize state-sanctioned same-sex marriages but that is a little less likely - for you that could potentially mean you couldn't sponsor your partner to come to the US if you wanted to move back there together.)

Even with all that, there is the question from the UK's perspective on whether they'd still honor a marriage that was voided in another country for a reason that would not have voided the marriage there.

Thank you so much Kelly85. This fits with what we were thinking/ hoping and with our decision back in 2017 to drive to Illinois (Beth was living in Wisconsin at time) to get married. It is really reassuring to read what you've set out clearly here. We don't have plans for Beth to sponsor me to live in the US, she feels at home here which is lovely, and lucky given that as you say that might be quite tricky if we had wanted that.

Thanks again for your time and help.