Francois Conradie Becomes First Same-Sex Spouse To Receive U.S. Visa From Consulate In The Netherlands

In a beautiful moment for same-sex couples and immigration reform in America, officials in Amsterdam issued their first visa for a same-sex foreign spouse of a work visa applicant yesterday, Aug. 6.

The political gesture follows on the heels of Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement last Friday at the U.S. embassy in London that same-sex visa applications would receive equal treatment as their heterosexual counterparts.

A photo and statement from the U.S. Consulate General, Amsterdam's Facebook page confirms that Francois Conradie recieved his visa following an interview at the agency on the day Kerry made his announcement.

While this has only been confirmed as the first official visa issued by the consulate in Amsterdam -- rather than the first ever -- it is a beautiful moment worth celebrating!

Kerry's move evidences an increasing awareness for the necessity to consider LGBT rights within an intersectional framework beyond just single-issue politics. That is, conceptualizing the impact, influence and intersections of LGBT social and political issues on other marginalized groups, and understanding how other aspects of identity, such as visa regulation for same-sex spouses, can serve as gatekeeping tactics for larger issues, such as administrating who can gain access to citizenship.

In his proclamation last Friday, Kerry stated, "Now, as long as a marriage has been performed in a jurisdiction that recognizes it so that it is legal, then that marriage is valid under U.S. immigration laws, and every married couple will be treated exactly the same, and that is what we believe is appropriate."

Correction on August 7 at 2:30pm ET: An earlier version of this story identified the visa as the first occasion during which a same-sex foreign spouse of a work visa applicant was granted a visa. It is the first in Amsterdam.