Says Morales: "We have been waiting for things to change, like the laws. But we realize we cannot put our lives on hold."
They are among an estimated 36,000 binational, same-sex couples in the U.S., says Steve Ralls of Immigration Equality; nearly half of them have children. A recent effort by the advocacy group and others to include spousal sponsorship language in an immigration bill being considered by the Senate failed.
That has made the Supreme Court decision all the more consequential, Ralls said.
Unless the high court strikes down DOMA, or the Senate reconsiders what to include in its immigration bill, Morales will have to leave the country when she finishes her master's in nursing program at Georgetown University. Or she could join the ranks of those in the U.S. illegally.
That's not something the couple wants. They've contemplated a move to either Peru, where Morales has family, but also would not recognize their marriage, or to a country like Canada, where their marriage would be legal under federal law.
But relocation is not something that the almost relentlessly positive couple dwells on.
"We always say that everything happens for a reason," says Costello, who teaches English as a second language to elementary school children in a suburban Washington school district. "That's kind of our motto."
Their Story
The women joke that when they met in Washington at a mutual friend's party seven years ago it was love at first sight.
"These have been the happiest years of my life," Morales said in the sun room of Kelly's parents' home, where they have been living.
Morales was working in Miami when they met, employed as a bank IT project manager and in the country on a work visa. She moved to Washington to be with Costello, obtaining a student visa that allowed her to get an undergraduate degree in nursing from Georgetown, and pursue her master's degree.
"She's my best friend, she's the love of my life," Morales says of Costello. "We knew that we were going to be together forever — always together, we could do anything, and guided by God."
The women say they are sustained in times of vulnerability, including Morales' struggle with multiple sclerosis, by family and their strong Catholic faith. They attend Mass weekly at a nearby church, and a priest gave a blessing at their wedding.
They wear matching gold St. Christopher medals on necklaces, and pray together daily.
"We understand that the Catholic Church maybe still has to change a little bit more to love everybody, like people like us," Morales says. "But we have found support from the Catholic Church. Not everybody is against gay people."
Costello, who says she has become more devout since meeting Morales, adds: "As my Dad always says, we are all God's children."
The families of both women have embraced the couple, including Kelly's 83-year-old aunt, Deirdre Krouse.
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