A new Trump administration visa policy appears to give the partners of same-sex diplomats a difficult ultimatum: get married, or get out. As of Monday, the U.S. State Department will no longer issue visas to the same-sex partners of foreign diplomats or staffers of U.S.-based international organizations like the United Nations, unless they are married. According to a notice posted on the State Department website, the U.S. will now consider applications from same-sex partners of diplomats and international officials the same way it does for heterosexual partners. The shift requires same-sex partners to apply for a spousal visa, also known as the G-4 visa, and is “effective immediately.” But that could put pose a problem for couples ineligible to legally marry in their home country. Only 25 countries recognize some form of same-sex marriage, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), while in more than 70 others, same-sex relationships are punishable by law. The policy change was announced in July, when the State Department said it would only “accept the accreditation of spouses, both same-sex and opposite-sex,” beginning on Oct. 1. Foreign same-sex partners who wish to remain in the U.S. are advised to submit proof of marriage to the State Department by Dec. 31, 2018, or expect to leave the U.S. within 30 days of that deadline. The new policy is intended “to help ensure and promote equal treatment” between straight and gay couples, a State Department spokesperson said in a statement, according to NBC News. But it also rolls back a practice championed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners of diplomats or international staff posted in the U.S., even if they were not legally married. The new visa regulations quickly garnered criticism for seemingly coercing same-sex couples to enter into a marriage that could earn them prison time back home. Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called the new policy “needlessly cruel & bigoted.” “Only 12% of UN member states allow same-sex marriage,” she wrote on Twitter. HRW deputy United Nations director Akshaya Kumar said Monday that the new policy will effectively “tear LGBT U.N. staff” from their partners. “Requiring a marriage as proof of bona fide partnership is a bad and cruel policy, one that replicates the terrible discrimination many LGBT people face in their own countries,” she wrote in a statement. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Eli Meixler at eli.meixler@time.com.<doc-sep>The Trump administration will no longer provide visas for same-sex domestic partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. officials serving in the U.S., a policy that went into effect Oct. 1. Only if a same-sex couple is married will the spouse be eligible for a visa, but that could prove problematic for some, as the majority of the world’s countries do not recognize same-sex marriages. The decision is meant to “ensure and promote equal treatment,” according to a State Department spokesperson, as heterosexual domestic partners of foreign diplomats are also not eligible for U.S. visas. That rule has been in effect since 2009, but the Trump administration is saying because same-sex marriage is now legal in the U.S., it’s no longer necessary or fair. The change also matches an update to the policy for U.S. diplomats in same-sex relationships, who must also be married in order to have their spouse join them in a post because same-sex marriage is legal in the U.S. That change was initiated in 2015, according to senior administration officials, after same-sex marriage was legalized across the country by the Supreme Court. The new rule will allow for “limited exceptions,” the officials added, for diplomats from countries where same-sex marriage is not legal, but where American same-sex couples are recognized and given visas to serve there. In those cases, the U.S. will work with countries to recognize foreign diplomats and their same-sex spouses that will serve here. There will not, however, be exceptions for diplomats serving at international institutions in the U.S., such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, or the World Health Organization. Critics say the change makes it difficult for same-sex couples in the many countries where marriage isn’t a legal possibility – let alone for those in countries where homosexuality is criminalized. Only 26 countries, or less than 14 percent, have legalized same-sex marriage, per the Pew Research Center, and in 72 countries homosexual activity is still illegal, according to the LGBTI rights group Equaldex. But the majority of same-sex couples currently serving in the U.S. would qualify for exceptions, according to a senior administration official, although they could not say how many or which countries recognize U.S. same-sex couples. It’s also unclear whether it will continue to be the majority, as new LGBTI foreign diplomats from different countries apply to serve in the U.S. There are currently 105 families in the U.S. that will be impacted by this change, including 55 families where the diplomat is serving at an international organization and is ineligible for an exception. For those diplomats, the officials said Tuesday the U.S. is “happy” to talk to their international organization employer about exceptions for their individual case. “It is an unfortunate change in rules, since same-sex couples, unlike opposite-sex couples, have limited choices when it comes to marriage,” said U.N. Globe, a U.N. LGBTI staff advocacy group, in a statement. U.N. Globe urged same-sex couples already in the U.S. to get married in America before their partners’ visa expires, but it’s unclear what options diplomats and their partners who are not yet in the U.S., but will be posted here in the future, have available to them if they don't qualify for an exception. Senior administration officials said the change comes now “to codify the legality and constitutionality of same-sex marriage in the United States,” which in turn means “reciprocity” for foreign diplomats serving here. But there is no firm legal requirement for reciprocity, that the same visa regulations apply to each other’s diplomats. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, who served under Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017, called the policy change “needlessly cruel and bigoted” in a tweet last week when news of the policy began to leak. One senior administration official defended against accusations like that, saying, “This is certainly not an attack. It was not meant as an attack. It is not meant to be punitive.”<doc-sep>President Donald Trump's administration began denying visas to the unmarried, same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and officials and employees of the United Nations this week — making marriage a requirement to be eligible for a visa. The policy was made effective Monday. It comes despite the fact that the majority of countries do not recognize same-sex marriage and many same-sex couples face prosecution in their own countries. The shift was detailed in a memo circulated at the United Nations' headquarters in New York last month but unveiled in July, according to the State Department. The policy shift gives the same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. workers until the end of the year to get married or leave the country. The State Department said in a briefing Tuesday that the policy will affect about 105 families in the USA, 55 of which have links to various international organizations. It was not clear how many foreign diplomats and U.N. employees with pending U.S. posts will be affected by the policy change. Twelve percent of the 193 U.N. member states represented in New York allow same-sex marriage, according to Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who served under President Barack Obama. The Trump administration said the new policy is more consistent with the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that legalized same-sex marriage. The heterosexual partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. employees are also not eligible for U.S. visas. Critics of the move argued the policy would create hardship for gay couples from countries that ban same-sex marriage or offer only civil unions. Those who marry in the USA to secure their visa status could face criminal proceedings once they return to their home nations. "Those not yet in the country will need to show they’re married to secure a visa, potentially forcing those living in countries without marriage equality to choose between a posting at UN headquarters or family separation," Akshaya Kumar, deputy U.N. director at Human Rights Watch, wrote in a blog post. UN Globe, which advocates for non-discrimination of LGBTI staff at the United Nations and in its peacekeeping operations, said it was an "unfortunate change in rules, since same-sex couples, unlike opposite-sex couples, have limited choices when it comes to marriage." Power, the former ambassador, described the policy in a tweet as "needlessly cruel and bigoted." The State Department said the rule change would promote equal treatment. It said it recognized that not all countries permit same-sex marriage and it was prepared to work with individual cases to find a solution for those not able to marry. But Diane Klein, a legal scholar at the University of La Verne who first wrote about the policy change in a blog post in July, said: "What remains unclear, both to employees inside affected agencies, and to legal commentators from the outside, is whether visa holders who marry their partners in the U.S., but whose marriages would not be recognized by their home countries, will enjoy continuing access to these partner visas." On Friday, nearly 120 House Democrats signed and sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressing him and the administration to reverse what they say is a discriminatory policy. “The United States must maintain its historical moral leadership on all human rights issues, including those affecting LGBTQI people,” wrote the lawmakers. “This policy sends the wrong message that the U.S. is not welcoming of all people.” “It also needlessly excludes UN personnel, and places an unnecessary burden on diplomats from countries that do not currently allow same-sex marriage. We urge the State Department to reconsider its decision,” the lawmakers added. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., who was among the lawmakers to sign the letter, said it is “particularly offensive that [the administration] would dare announce this policy in the name of equality.” “Progress has been made in this country despite, not because of, this Administration,” he said. “Secretary Pompeo should swiftly reverse this decision and lift the burden on partners of foreign diplomats coming from countries where same-sex marriage is illegal." More:Court: Korean-born girl must leave USA because she was adopted by her Kansas uncle a year too late<doc-sep>
Trump Administration to Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats, U.N. Officials The Trump administration on Monday began denying visas to same-sex domestic partners of foreign diplomats and United Nations employees, and requiring those already in the United States to get married by the end of the year or leave the country. The U.S. Mission to the U.N. portrayed the decision—which foreign diplomats fear will increase hardships for same-sex couples in countries that don’t recognize same-sex marriage—as an effort to bring its international visa practices in line with current U.S. policy. In light of the landmark 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the U.S. extends diplomatic visas only to married spouses of U.S. diplomats. “Same-sex spouses of U.S. diplomats now enjoy the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex spouses,” the U.S. mission wrote in a July 12 note to U.N.-based delegations. “Consistent with [State] Department policy, partners accompanying members of permanent missions or seeking to join the same must generally be married in order to be eligible” for a diplomatic visa. But critics says the new policy will impose undue hardships on foreign couples from countries that criminalize same-sex marriages. Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the new policy on Twitter as “needlessly cruel & bigoted.” “State Dept. will no longer let same-sex domestic partners of UN employees get visas unless they are married,” she tweeted, noting that “only 12% of UN member states allow same-sex marriage.” In July, the U.S. mission sent out diplomatic notes to the United Nations and representatives for foreign diplomatic missions explaining the new policy, which reversed a 2009 decision by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to grant visas to domestic partners of U.S. and foreign diplomats. The contents of the diplomatic note were first reported in August by the Washington Blade. The 2009 policy, however, did not allow a heterosexual domestic partner of a U.S. or foreign diplomat to enter the country on a diplomatic visa. The new policy —which enters into force Monday—requires that foreign domestic partners of diplomats and U.N. officials posted in the United States must show the State Department proof of marriage by Dec. 31, or leave the country within 30 days. As of today, domestic partners of diplomats and U.N. officials based abroad will need to show they are married in order to enter the country on a diplomatic visa. The latest policy change, the United States explained in the note, was aimed at ensuring all couples were treated equally. “The Department of State will not issue a G-4 visa for same-sex domestic partners,” the U.N. human resources chief explained in a note distributed to staff last month. “As of 1 October 2018, same-sex domestic partners … seeking to join newly arrived U.N. officials must provide proof of marriage to eligible for a G-4 visa or to seek a change in such status.” There are currently at least 10 U.N. employees in the United States who would need to get married by the New Year to have their partners’ visas extended. The new policy poses a number of risks for same-sex partners, according to Alfonso Nam, the president of U.N. Globe, a U.N. LGBTI staff advocacy organization. Same-sex couples already inside of the United States could go to city hall and get married. But they could potentially be exposed to prosecution if they return to a country that criminalizes homosexuality or same-sex marriages. The United States informed foreign governments that they would allow “limited exceptions” to its new policy in cases involving diplomats from countries where same-sex marriage is illegal. But that government would have to provide documentation proving that same-sex marriage was illegal and commit to accepting same-sex partners of U.S. diplomats. Yet that exception was not offered to U.N. officials. “With this change, the State Department is enforcing parity in the way they recognize opposite-sex partnerships and same-sex partnerships,” U.N. Globe said in a statement. “It is an unfortunate change in rules, since same-sex couples, unlike opposite-sex couples, have limited choices when it comes to marriage.” This story has been updated.