John Kerry Says Same-Sex Couples Seeking Visas Will Be Treated the Same as Opposite-Sex Couples

Will immediately affect up to 100 applicants

(CNN) -- Legally married same-sex spouses seeking U.S. visas will now be treated the same as opposite-sex spouses, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Friday.

Kerry told a meeting with consular staff in London that the change means that his department was "tearing down an unjust and an unfair barrier that for too long stood in the way of same-sex families being able to travel as a family to the United States."

Beginning immediately, same-sex spouses of both U.S. citizens and foreigners will be treated equally as opposite-sex spouses, Kerry explained.