Inequality Strikes Again.

"There are no immigration benefits available to [gays] based on their relationship. With
that said, there's certainly nothing that says a U.S. citizen cannot move to another
country." -- Chris Bentley, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security's Citizen
and Immigration Services, LA Weekly, January 9, 2004

FACT: LGBT Individual do not have the same immigration rights as hetero individual. We cannot
sponsor our partners (or our partners cannot sponsor us) for green cards and the right to stay together in
the United States.

FACT: The United States does not recognize LGBT relationships at a federal level—and
immigration is a federal issue. Many of us have been with our partners for several years, work hard, pay
taxes, have children—but in the eyes of our government none of that matters. We are legal strangers.

FACT: The U.S. government is breaking up LGBT families. This happens every day. Because U.S.
immigration laws discriminate against us we have very few legal options for staying together. Visas are
temporary. When a foreign partner’s visa runs out, their American partner cannot help them. The couple
is forced to either separate—or leave the country and live in exile.

FACT: At least nineteen countries—Canada, most European countries, Australia, New Zealand,
Brazil, Israel and South Africa—recognize same-sex relationships for the purpose of immigration.
The United States does not.

Sign the pledge here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/special_visa_for_binational_lgbt_spouse-perma-partners

Orgs:
http://www.out4immigration.org/immigration/homepage.html
http://www.immigrationequality.org/
http://eqfl.blogspot.com/2009/06/immigration-laws-affect-glbtq-community.html

Cynthia & Natalia (Colombia)
I met my partner in 2001 and began our relationship then. From the beginning we fell in love with each other.
The impact of not having the right to stay together here in the U.S. reverberates at every level of our lives. It puts our relationship under incredible stress everyday. Every day there is something that reminds us. She can't get an ID or Social Security card so we can't even go out for dinner and have a drink without her feeling bad because we are reminded when she has to use her passport.
Most importantly, I have to see the person I love suffocating because she can't live, work, or even go to school freely and I am impotent to do anything about it.
The most incredible thing is that this happens in my own country, the United States!
I have to watch the person that I love suffer because she is with me and there is nothing I can do to help or ease this pain.
I live in fear that she will get tired or get sent back to a place that is not home anymore. We can't plan because we never know what will happen in the future.
To see her overcome her difficulties gave me strength to pull myself together. At 31 years old, I went back to school for my M.A. degree and then continued for my Ph.D. to become a college professor.
We have refused to live a lie by having her marry someone else or attempt other avenues for getting her legal status.
If no options for her legal status are available, we will be forced to leave the country.
I am astonished that this "great" country can not do such a simple thing in order to retain such highly trained and committed Americans that have so much to contribute to this society -- just because of who we love.