The Face of Immigration Injustice
I feel like my life is being stolen. When I think about it, my heart literally feels as if it will tear in half.
I’m talking about the immigration situation my partner and I currently face. As the US Citizen in a bi-national, same-sex couple, I’m utterly helpless to sponsor my Canadian partner for immigration.
We’ve been together for more than ten years, abiding by the letter of the law, always making sure my better half had the right papers. But now, his visa is running out. And there is nothing I can do, nothing he can do… but leave the United States for 365 consecutive days.
If we were a straight couple, we could get married. If the narrow-minded idiots who passed the Defense of Marriage Act had not been so stingy with the institution that THEY corrupted, then perhaps we could take a trip to Iowa and get hitched on a quaint bridge in Madison County… and by now, many others would have done the same… and certainly, the US would have finally caught up with the more enlightened nations that allow same-sex marriage, and would recognize our relationship and let me sponsor him for immigration.
No such luck.
In fact, the US doesn’t just lag behind more civilized nations that allow gay marriage. It also lags behind an even larger number of countries that, even if they fail to recognize same-sex marriage, do recognize same-sex families for immigration.
It really makes me mad. I don’t get a tax break for the rights I’m denied. It’s wrong. Morally wrong. And it needs to change. It’s almost a cliché, but it’s true: the US is the Land of the Free (some exclusions apply).
The only glimmer of hope is the Uniting American Families Act. Please contact your senators and representative and ask them to support this legislation, either in a stand-alone bill or as a part of comprehensive immigration reform.
You can read more about the injustice of immigration discrimination at these sites:
http://www.immigrationequality.org/
http://www.unitingamericanfamilies.net/
http://equalitync.blogspot.com/2010/06/torn-apart-ed-and-tim-binational-gay.html
You can also become a fan of our page on Facebook. Just search for “Keep Ed & Tim Together,” or click the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-Ed-Tim-Together-Fight-Immigration-Injustice/118576734849352?filter=2
I’m talking about the immigration situation my partner and I currently face. As the US Citizen in a bi-national, same-sex couple, I’m utterly helpless to sponsor my Canadian partner for immigration.
We’ve been together for more than ten years, abiding by the letter of the law, always making sure my better half had the right papers. But now, his visa is running out. And there is nothing I can do, nothing he can do… but leave the United States for 365 consecutive days.
If we were a straight couple, we could get married. If the narrow-minded idiots who passed the Defense of Marriage Act had not been so stingy with the institution that THEY corrupted, then perhaps we could take a trip to Iowa and get hitched on a quaint bridge in Madison County… and by now, many others would have done the same… and certainly, the US would have finally caught up with the more enlightened nations that allow same-sex marriage, and would recognize our relationship and let me sponsor him for immigration.
No such luck.
In fact, the US doesn’t just lag behind more civilized nations that allow gay marriage. It also lags behind an even larger number of countries that, even if they fail to recognize same-sex marriage, do recognize same-sex families for immigration.
It really makes me mad. I don’t get a tax break for the rights I’m denied. It’s wrong. Morally wrong. And it needs to change. It’s almost a cliché, but it’s true: the US is the Land of the Free (some exclusions apply).
The only glimmer of hope is the Uniting American Families Act. Please contact your senators and representative and ask them to support this legislation, either in a stand-alone bill or as a part of comprehensive immigration reform.
You can read more about the injustice of immigration discrimination at these sites:
http://www.immigrationequality.org/
http://www.unitingamericanfamilies.net/
http://equalitync.blogspot.com/2010/06/torn-apart-ed-and-tim-binational-gay.html
You can also become a fan of our page on Facebook. Just search for “Keep Ed & Tim Together,” or click the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-Ed-Tim-Together-Fight-Immigration-Injustice/118576734849352?filter=2