G'morning Kossacks,
As I was reading through the blogs this morning, I found an interesting cartoon about the upcoming UAFA bill (H.R. 1024, or S. 424). I found this video on www.PamsHouseBlend.com. The UAFA bill, or "Uniting American Families Act" is a bill that would enable gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor their loved ones who are from foreign countries. This bill has been introduced by Senator Leahy (D-VT) and Respresentative Nadler (D-NY). The cartoon below - from Youtube - describes the issue a bit more in-depth by dramatizing the situation through Steve and Ricardo's relationship. I have a bit more information below the fold, along with some ideas about how you can help to get this bill moving.
Steve and Ricardo
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If you can't see the video above, you can also consult the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Website, which has more information about "the problem" of current immigration laws (i.e., how they are discriminatory and non-inclusive of lesbians and gays who are from foreign countries). The Human Rights Campaign is a U.S. organization that is considered at the forefront of advancing the rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights. Of course, not everyone agrees with them, but they have been effective in reaching a broad audience. In the blocks below, the HRC explains the problems of current immigration law and the goals of the larger UAFA bill:
Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses (and other immediate family members) for immigration purposes. But same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are not considered "spouses," and their partners cannot sponsor them for family-based immigration. Consequently, many same-sex, bi-national couples are kept apart.
Similarly, the Human Rights Campaign site gives some more context for how the Uniting American Families Act will benefit binational couples, like Steve and Ricardo, who are gay. The Human Rights Campaign website explain to us that this new Act will amend and update current U.S. law to stop the unfair treatment of binational gay couples who are living in the U.S. --
The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) would remedy this injustice and allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners (called "permanent partners" in UAFA) for family-based immigration.
The legislation amends the definitions sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act to include definitions for "permanent partner" and "permanent partnership." The Act defines "permanent partner" as an individual who is at least 18 years of age who is in a committed relationship with another individual at least 18 years of age who is not a first, second or third-degree blood relative, with the intent that this be a lifelong commitment. The individual must be financially interdependent with his or her partner, cannot be married or in another permanent partnership and must be unable to enter into a marriage recognized under the INA with the partner.
UAFA will provide lesbian and gay individuals the same opportunity as different-sex, married couples to sponsor their partner. Like different-sex couples, there are requirements such as providing proof of the relationship — including affidavits from friends and family or evidence of financial support. As with current immigration laws for married couples, UAFA would impose harsh penalties for fraud, including up to five years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines.
So as Ricardo, Steve and The Human Rights Campaign suggest, there is still a lot to be done. Even though the UAFA bill has been gaining co-sponors (it has some co-sponsors now), we still need to get all our other representatives on-board. If you'd like to know whether your state's representative are supporting the bill then Click Here and then under Sponsor, click on the Co-sponsor link. If your representative isn't supporting the Act yet, then you can find your representatives and contact them by clicking on the House of Representatives Site, or the Senate Members Site.
As of right now, it's tough to know when the different chambers of the house will be voting on this, but I wanted to get the word out ASAP, so we can start getting organized. WE NEED YOUR HELP! If we can get enough co-sponors and support, we might have a shot at getting this important bill passed. Here's some more links, which provide more comprehensive coverage on the bills and their relationship to current immigration laws. Please also feel free to post your suggestions and related links. I'll try to update this page through the day. THANKS everyone!
Learn More at these helpful wesbites: www.ImmigrationEquality.org and www.4UAFA.com