With a truly historic decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, paving the way for U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex spouses for immigration benefits. The 5-4 ruling was celebrated at the annual convention of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which began the same day the Court issued its ruling. Prior to the ruling, some citizens had taken the bold move to apply for permanent residence for their same-sex partners, only to have their petitions denied due to DOMA. Director of the USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking at the convention, stated that USCIS had kept track of all the applications that had been denied under DOMA and alluded that USCIS may take corrective action on its own. Already the first foreign gay spouse has received permanent residence and Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has issued an implementation statement clarifying that in general individuals can sponsor their same-sex spouses for permanent residence provided they were married in a state in which same-sex marriage is legal. Stay tuned for further developments related to this exciting news.