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“I don’t want to be an activist,” Josh Vandiver, a 29-year-old gay man explained.A Harvard graduate completing his Ph.D. at Princeton, with a focus on comparative ancient Greek and Renaissance political theory, Vandiver said, “I want to finish up my dissertation and become a professor… I’m a reclusive scholar. I like to be in the library all day.”Cristina Ojeda, a 24-year-old lesbian who came to the US from Mexico when she was 11 and became a citizen at the same time her father did, has more experience with LGBT causes. As an undergraduate at the University of California at Santa Cruz, she found herself amidst a politically charged student body. “It was natural to be involved,” she said.Still, when Ojeda, who grew up in California, moved to Buffalo to get a master’s in social work at SUNY, she found an apartment off campus in a low-income neighborhood where she felt uneasy leading a vis
“I don’t want to be an activist,” Josh Vandiver, a 29-year-old gay man explained.A Harvard graduate completing his Ph.D. at Princeton, with a focus on comparative ancient Greek and Renaissance political theory, Vandiver said, “I want to finish up my dissertation and become a professor… I’m a reclusive scholar. I like to be in the library all day.”Cristina Ojeda, a 24-year-old lesbian who came to the US from Mexico when she was 11 and became a citizen at the same time her father did, has more experience with LGBT causes. As an undergraduate at the University of California at Santa Cruz, she found herself amidst a politically charged student body. “It was natural to be involved,” she said.Still, when Ojeda, who grew up in California, moved to Buffalo to get a master’s in social work at SUNY, she found an apartment off campus in a low-income neighborhood where she felt uneasy leading a vis
A Brazilian man was reunited with his American husband this week after a U.S. senator pressed federal officials to temporarily allow the gay man back into the country on humanitarian grounds.

Nearly three years ago, the couple split when Oliveira was forced to return to Brazil after being denied permanent residency in the U.S. because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages.

The pair maintained contact through online video chats and sporadic visits during holidays.

The case gained international attention from gay rights and immigrant advocates who criticized U.S. officials for separating the couple even though they were legally married.
Here is the plan – I will post a new true life story, bi- monthly featuring a story of one binational lesbian or gay couple who are either in hiding in the US, waiting for a visa to run out, living in exile or living alone unable to be with a beloved partner. I vow to do this until one of two things happen first:

a. UAFA (or equivalent) is passed into law, giving us our equal right to sponsor our partners for green-cards, equally; or

b. I run out of binational couples – The estimate is between 40,000-100,000 binationals which means I can keep writing – lets see- 2 per month for 12 months – divide into – lets do the smaller amount in case the big amount is inaccurate – so divide 24 into 40,000 = 1,666 years – please check my math….. okay I hope “a” happens first!
There has been a recent bevy of co-sponsors signing onto the Uniting American Families Act, the legislation that seeks to provide Lesbian and Gay Americans with the right to Petition for their same-sex spouses/ partners to live in the USA. This law merely seeks to place the words “permanent partners” into the existing Immigration and Naturalization Act. This is no time to let up, but rather imprtant that we make the most of the momentum. I have 14 couples I am trying to help remain together in the US. That is a tip of the iceberg. They are all desperate. They want to stay together and they want to stay at home. We need UAFA legialstion and awareness of the binational issue more so than ever. Please I am asking for your help.
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Today the news was immense when Senator Arlen Specter sign his support to the Bill. In June this year the Senator attended and spoke at
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry says he supports a new lawsuit against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Tim Coco and Genesio “Junior” Oliveira, a binational gay couple, announced Monday they would challenge the 13-year-old law that bans the federal government from recognizing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
Oliveira, 30, returned to his native Brazil in 2007 after an immigration judged denied his request for asylum. He sought asylum in the U.S. in 2002 because he said he was raped as a teenager. In March, Senator Kerry sent a letter asking for intervention in the matter to Attorney General Eric Holder. On Friday, Coco told the AP that the deadline for Holder to act had passed without action from the administration, effectively supporting Oliveira's denial of asylum and keeping the men apart.
The State of Maine’s rejection of marriage equality at the ballot box yesterday is being heeded as a call for federal LGBT rights by activists and organizations around the US, including Out4Immigration.

The Maine vote was 53% in support of taking away civil marriage rights granted to gays and lesbians by approval of the state legislature and signed into law by the state’s governor 6 months ago. 47% of voters supported marriage equality. “Subjecting minority rights to majority vote repeatedly denies equality to LGBT families,” said Mickey Lim, vice president and co-founder of Out4Immigration, a grassroots organization that works closely with same-sex marriage groups for recognition of same-sex binational couple rights tied to federal immigration policies.

Out4Immigation advocates for same-sex binational couples, relationships in which one partner is American and
The time is now, lest immigration be maligned further. A nation born of immigrants, whether Hispanic, Asian, African, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, we are forgetting the forbearance shown our forefathers and forgoing the ... U.S. Representative Mike Honda, who represents California’s 15th Congressional district (including Silicon Valley) has long been a supporter of immigration reform. In today’s Roll Call (popular in-game newspaper on Capitol Hill), there is an opinion piece by Congressman Honda that refreshingly includes binational same-sex couples while giving examples of why the current immigration system must be reformed....

Another constituent, Judy Rickard, will permanently leave America this November in an effort to keep her family together. Under U.S. law, she cannot be reunited with her partner, Karin Bogliolo, a UK national. Judy would have preferred to
As one of 18,000 legally wed same-sex couples in California, Brad Levenson and Tony Sears file state income taxes as a married couple.

But they file their federal taxes as single individuals, paying hundreds of dollars more each year. That's because a law called the Defense of Marriage Act bars federal agencies from recognizing gay marriages.

Backers of gay rights are pushing to repeal the law, buoyed by a growing acceptance of same-sex marriage, which is now legal in six states.

But Republicans on Capitol Hill are ready to fight....
So what I am trying to say here is… UAFA is not going to be a bill tagged on to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, like the repeal of the HIV Ban was tagged on to PEPFAR last year. If this is the case, they could easily remove the bill during conference once CIR is passed. UAFA is ALREADY included in RFA… so if they want to remove UAFA from CIR during conference or during floor vote/debate, they would have to remove RFA entirely.

Pushing for the passage of UAFA is ongoing and will never stop, but it is also important to note that immigration law is discriminatory on so many levels and we need to stand up and support CIR. The majority of the immigrant community has stood up in support of our issue and supports the inclusion of UAFA in CIR… Our representative, Rep. Honda, and many progressive organizations have the political will to stand out and advocate for our i
A carefully planned test challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal statute that bans federal recognition of same sex marriages, is taking shape in Massachusetts, one of a growing number of states to recognize marriage equality. The case could have important immigration implications because DOMA bars conferring immigration benefits to these couples. If the plaintiffs are successful, it would pave the way for US citizens to petition for green cards for their same-sex spouses.

While the high-profile, Ted Olson- and David Boies-managed legal fight against California's Proposition 8 captures headlines, a carefully planned case quietly underway in Massachusetts federal court could be the gay marriage test with the greatest national impact....
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is pleased to support Resolution AJR 15, which would put California on record in support of the federal Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

UAFA is a proposed bill that would remove the legal barriers to immigration by permanent same-sex partners. It would provide same-sex couples with the same immigration benefits as opposite-sex couples.

Read NCLR’s letter of support...
Sacramento – Today, the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed three resolutions with a 6-3 vote of the committee on critical federal laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people including a resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act (AJR 15).

"It is important for California, the state with the largest LGBT population, to urge the federal government to repeal discriminatory federal policies that ultimately hurt all people in the United States," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "We have more potential now than ever before to make a positive impact at the federal level, and we call on Congress and the President to seize this historic opportunity."

The measure formally requests that the United States Congress pass and President Barack Obama sign the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). "Thousands of American families a
I've written to 6 local newspapers, well local to Carterville, Illinois, urging the readers to write to their senator or congressman to request support for the Uniting American Families Act, which would help to end discrimination and gain equality regarding spousal sponsorship immigration rules. I have no idea if they all or even any or them will print my letters, but I'm hopeful, one The Southern Illinoisian, emailed me requesting I shorten my letter to 250 words, their editorial maximum, so ya never know, they may print it up!
Today President Obama confirmed some of my fears in so far as they relate to Uniting American Families Act - UAFA and comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).

“I’ve got a lot on my plate and it’s very important for us to sequence these big initiatives so they don’t crash at the same time,” Obama said when asked by a reporter about the prospects for immigration reform.”

I am calling on Immigration Equality to re strategize and change their course back to the original focus. The focus on UAFA, what it represents to binationals currently in exile or in hiding, its use to raise funds for IE has veered off ...

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Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States who seek equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality issues, rights and policy.