US embassy issues 1st same-sex visas

MANILA, Philippines - The US embassy in Manila issued last Monday its first fiancé visas to two same-sex couples.

Although same-sex marriage is not yet recognized in the Philippines, the embassy said gay Americans are now able to petition for family-based visas on behalf of their Filipino spouses, fiancés, and their children.

Noel “Aeinghel” Amaro and Robert Cotterman were the first gay couple in the Philippines to receive a fiancé visa. Cotterman serves in the US military and is scheduled to return from a tour in Afghanistan next month.

He and Amaro met online. They will be married in the US also next month.

Maria Cecilia Limson Gahuman and Maria Carla Antonio also received a fiancé visa. The couple met through a mutual friend over a decade ago.

The couple will tie the knot on Dec. 30 in California.

The visa policy came months after a historic decision by the US Supreme Court, which struck down the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Overturning DOMA signified that the US federal government must extend all federal rights and privileges of marriage to any married couple, regardless of sexual orientation.

Currently, gay couples can marry in 16 of 50 American states, and in the nation’s capital.

The expanded rights include immigration benefits.

Advancing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality has been one of US President Barack Obama’s top priorities. Upon the first issuance of a same-sex visa in London, US Secretary of State John Kerry said one of the “most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all people.”

He said the State Department, which has always been at the forefront of equality in the federal government, is tearing down an unjust barrier that for too long had stood in the way of same-sex families being able to travel as a family to the United States.

“In light of these changes, the American embassy wants to educate gay Filipinos about new visa opportunities,” the US embassy said.

Filipinos in same-sex relationships with Americans are encouraged to view the visa section of the embassy website at manila.usembassy.gov for more information.