The Obama Administration is proposing to make it easier for undocumented immigrants who are family members of American citizens to apply for legal permanent residency.
Follow, research and publish the best content
Get Started for FREE
Sign up with Facebook Sign up with X
I don't have a Facebook or a X account
Already have an account: Login
United by Love, United by Law
5.1K views |
+0 today
This site was formerly known as "United by Love, Divided by Law." The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2013 that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) means that same-sex binational couples are now entitled to all the same rights and privileges of marriage accorded to opposite-sex couples. The biggest right of all - immigration rights, and the right of an American citizen to sponsor a foreign partner for permanent residency (i.e., a green card), is now ours! Thank you for visiting and your support. - Kathy Drasky, Volunteer Media Coordinator, Out4Immigration, 2006-2013.
Curated by
KazzaDrask Media
 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
Scoop.it!
When she helped write DOMA, Kathryn Lehman was in a heterosexual relationship and didn't think DOMA would do much damage. But DOMA has hurt gay and lesbian couples in a multitude of ways. It denies medical leave pay for about 43,000 employees who leave to care for a same-sex partner. It denies health care benefits and work/injury compensation for more than 30,000 same-sex spouses of federal employees. It denies about 68,000 veterans with same-sex partners the ability to share their pension and educational benefits. It denies equal treatment in inheritance tax, in filing joint income tax returns, in spousal protections for long-term care under Medicaid and in the process of acquiring a green card for an estimated 26,000 bi-national couples. 
Scoop.it!
Another couple being threatened with being torn apart beause US laws won't recognize the American citizen's marriage. This case is very similar to the story of Brian and Alfonso you read about last week.
Scoop.it!
Another piece for the United by Love, Divided by Law visual protest project. This one from same-sex binational couple Meg and Nicky, from the US and Canada. You can find out more about this project by clicking the link to this story or sending an email to info@out4immigration.org
Scoop.it!
Brian Willingham may have been able to prevent his husband Alfonso Garcia's deportation for now, but the Orinda couple's fight against his expulsion is far from over.
Scoop.it!
Brian Willingham has just alerted Out4Immigration from outside immigration court. "Great result today. The immigration judge postponed the deportation hearing until October to give USCIS time to review the marriage-based visa petition that I filed for my husband." Another small step for immigration equality for same-sex binational couples.
Scoop.it!
Gay marriage was strongly upheld in New Hampshire today, as both Democrats and Republicans formed a majority of 211 to 116 to ensure the state's marriage equality law stayed intact. Great news. But for same-sex couples legally married in NH, their marriages remain unrecognized by the federal government; they continue to be denied immigration benefits.
Scoop.it!
As Brian and Alfonso's date in immigration court approaches, their story continues to gain momentum. Alfonso's deportation hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 22.
Scoop.it!
Lead sponsor of UAFA and champion of DOMA repeal, Sen. Leahy addresses the harm caused to same-sex binational couples due to DOMA. But after years of legislation that fails to get enough co-sponsors for debate, where are some constructive alternatives to helping couples now?
Scoop.it!
Stay tuned to this space, Stop the Deportations: The DOMA Project (www.stopthedeportations.com/blog) and Out4Immigration's Facebook page for the latest details on this story.
Scoop.it!
"My financial and emotional losses are too great to put into words...."
Scoop.it!
A heartfelt plea to President Obama from one same-sex binational couple being forced into exile. It doesn't have to be this way. We need the Obama Administration to let same-sex binational couples stay in the U.S. together until DOMA is repealed and we can access all 1,138 federal marriage rights, including an American citizen's right to obtain a green card for their spouse.
Scoop.it!
"Last year some of our friends got married. They are an opposite sex binational couple that has been together less than 2 years, yet the husband now has his green card, Meanwhile, my wife and I have been together for 10 years...."
|
Scoop.it!
A small item in the news this week reveals that the sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that polices our borders and ports-of-entry is making plans to recognize same-sex couples so that more families can file a single Customs Declaration form when returning from travel abroad. If implemented, the new rules will mean that you and your partner will be able to fill out one customs form when you arrive in America and you will finally be able go up to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer’s desk together. But...as always, there's a catch for same-sex binational couples.
Scoop.it!
If we binationals need inspiration, we only need to look at the work of ACT UP. Back in the '80s and early '90s, it was this group that led the fight for a cure for AIDS and care for people with the disease. It brought the LGBT community together and changed the game. Most of the equal rights we have today have stemmed from activism started by ACT UP.
Scoop.it!
A great small step, which by the way, is not yet a done deal. It still needs to be reviewed and undergo a "period of public comment." It also will only work if both partners are US citizens and/or permanent residents.
Scoop.it!
Judy Rickard, author of "Torn Apart: United by Love, Divided by Law" is taking the necessary steps to sponsor her wife Karin for a green card. Because they are a same-sex couple, there is no precedent. Working with attorney Lavi Soloway, Judy has documented Step 1 of this process. Tomorrow, is Step 2 - when Karin goes for her biometrics appointment. How far will Judy and Karin get before their application is denied? Or, will they be the couple that finally breaks down this barrier?
Scoop.it!
Italy, like the United States, has no federal policy that recognizes same-sex couples as families. So, this first step, a permit that will allow this binational couple to live together in Italy is a huge step forward. And a solution the US can examine as a temporary fix while we continue to debate full federal rights for same-sex married couples.
Scoop.it!
Read Teva and Ido's story. Like many same-sex binational couples they spend more time apart than together because DOMA won't allow Teva, an American citizen, the right to sponsor his partner. Share your story with Out4Immigration. Send it to info@out4immigration.org.
Scoop.it!
Compete America has formally endorsed the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). Compete America is the leading advocate for reform of U.S. immigration policy for highly educated foreign professionals. Its members include Google, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, and many other technology sector businesses.
Scoop.it!
At best, we are in a holding pattern these days, particualrly when one attorney who has led the charge for green cards for same-sex binational couples admits he expects an upcoming green card petition for his clients to be denied.
Scoop.it!
In San Francisco on March 22, Brian Willingham and Alfonso Garcia will face the worst nightmare of any gay or lesbian binational couple: a deportation hearing in a federal Immigration Court. Brian and Alfonso are legally married, but their relationship will not be recognized because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Brian and Alfonso are taking a brave stand for their love and for all binational couples by demanding that their marriage be treated like any other married couple’s marriage! Brian has filed a green card petition for Alfonso based on their marriage. This petition calls on the Obama administration not to deny this green card petition but to hold a final determination in abeyance until DOMA has been defeated.
Scoop.it!
This week, Brian and Alfonso, a same-sex binational couple in California, will go to court to keep Alfonso from being deported. Please watch this moving video and circulate. Ask those you send this to why should the US government have the right to tear apart this legally married couple?
Scoop.it!
Immigrant and gay advocates heralded the case as the first in Texas to end in a reprieve based in large part on a same-sex marriage to a US citizen.
Scoop.it!
The DeVote Campaign has teamed up with attorney Lavi Soloway and The DOMA Project to personalize and publicize the plight of binational same-sex couples struggling to remain together in the U.S. as a result of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). When opposite-sex binational couples get married, the American spouse can sponsor the foreign born spouse for a green card to legally remain and work in the U.S. Married same-sex couples do not have this option, since DOMA defines ‘marriage’ as a union between one man and one woman in all areas governed by federal law including immigration. While the Obama administration declared that it would no longer defend DOMA in February 2011, no blanket measures have been taken to stop the deportations and green card denials that thousands of committed couples continue to endure.
|
