Some of you may know my dilemma, but here's a short recap for those who don't:
I am in a same-sex relationship. My girlfriend, a UK citizen, is here on a limited work visa. For various reasons she is not eligible for a green card. Her visa runs out later this year and if it is not renewed, she will have 30 days to leave the country. It's highly likely given that situation that I would go with her, but I would rather not leave my friends and family behind. A move to the UK would completely disrupt both of our lives. We live in California, and while things aren't exactly perfect here, given the choice between the UK and California we would both prefer to stay.
Simply put: If we were a hetero couple we could get married and resolve the situation fairly quickly. But we can't because we're two women.
We're on the clock now and hoping that Civil Union legislation is signed into law soon. Marriage would be ideal, but we will take what we can get at this point in order to stay together. Additionally immigration law needs to be reformed to recognize same sex unions.
Obama, I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but if you could get around to this one small thing, you would make millions of us much happier.
*UPDATE-ACTION ITEM*
Thanks to Erik W, who tipped me off to legislation that has been stalled in the Senate. I will be calling my senator and I urge you to do the same. Ask them to become a sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act. Maybe if we all work together on this we can get it moving again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
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I also need to go off on a small tangent here in regards to the recent unhappiness directed towards holders of work visas. The rhetoric about "stealing American jobs from Americans" is very damaging. Please pause for a moment to consider what this country would be like without the presence of any foreign workers. We would be setting ourselves back by keeping new ideas and innovation at bay and alienating other countries. If anything we should be making it easier for foreign workers to obtain permanent citizenship.
As a holder of a limited work visa, my girlfriend is basically an indentured servant. She is here completely at will of the company who hired her. If she is fired or laid off she has 30 days to leave. She cannot seek other employment in the country and she cannot pursue citizenship under the current green card rules.
I'm personally angry about the millions of jobs off-shored to other countries. But the anger towards people who hold work visas is misdirected. They are caught in a system that turns them into wage slaves possibly even more than the average American.