Colorado man’s husband won’t be deported

Out Front Colorado is a member of the Associated Press.

Josh-Vandiver-and-Henry-Velandia — Josh Vandiver and Henry Velandia. Image via CNN

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A deportation order has been canceled for a Venezuelan man who married his same-sex partner in the United States.

Advocates say that renews hope for thousands of same-sex multinational couples across the U.S.

Henry Velandia had asked to remain in America as the legal spouse of U.S. citizen Josh Vandiver. They live in New Jersey but were married last year in Connecticut, where same-sex marriage is legal.

Vandiver is originally from Colorado.

A Newark immigration judge put Velandia’s deportation on hold in May, citing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s intervention in the case of another New Jersey gay man facing deportation.

Holder has said the Obama administration will no longer support the Defense of Marriage Act in court. The act defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Velandia received word Wednesday of the cancellation.