Date: Fri, 02 Sep 1994 12:52:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Hands Off The University of Washington Subject: Working against immigration discrimination X-Sender: handsoff@hardy.u.washington.edu Couples Torn Apart Immigration Discrimination Against Lesbigays --------------------------------------------- Any relationship is a challenge--learning to communicate, learning to balance your needs with the needs of your partner, learning to make time together without smothering either of you. But same-sex couples in which one partner is a U.S. citizen and the other is from abroad face an additional challenge--staying together in the same country. Opposite sex couples have the option of marrying. The U.S. citizen can then sponsor his or her spouse for conditional permanent residence. Even a conditional green card is a step up from a temporary work visa that limits its owner to one specific job, or a student visa that limits its holder to full-time study and no more than 20 hours a week of work, if any work is permitted at all. In two years, after further screening to ensure the couple has a bona fide marriage, the foreign partner gets the green card. But same-sex couples cannot yet marry anywhere in the United States. Even if the battle to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii and possibly Washington, D.C., succeeds it may take years to persuade the INS to recognize these marriages for immigration purposes. That means many same-sex bi-national couples must live apart for long periods of time, perhaps years or decades, until the foreign partner finds some other way to get a green card. Or they live together in the United States, but only if the foreign partner buys a few years at a time by getting temporary work or study visas--or stays illegally, giving up a career and further education. For many couples, even assuming the foreign partner has the skills to get a work visa, or the money to pay for tuition so he or she can get a student visa, or the money to stay illegally without work, buying time may not be enough to be happy. They are always conscious of time running out. They may feel there is little point in making concrete choices in preparation for the future--buying a house, adopting children, getting pets--because they can't be sure what country they will have to live in a few years later, or if they will be able to stay together at all. The foreign partner may choose a field of study in school based not on his or her interests but on what is likely to lead to a job that may get him or her a green card-- even if it is a job he or she would hate. In addition to possible financial constraints on their options, a couple's dilemma may be further compounded if either or both partners belongs to a group that experiences severe discrimination in the foreign partner's home country, such as women or, even in countries that seem otherwise progressive, people with disabilities. Moving to the foreign partner's home country may be an undesirable option for the couple. The U.S. citizen may be faced with the choice of giving up his or her country to be a third class citizen somewhere else, or giving up the person he or she loves. If you are part of a same-sex bi-national couple--or a former part of such a couple that broke up because of the associated stress and uncertainties--this information is painfully old to you. But there's something you can do about it. The Lesbian and Gay Immigration and Asylum Rights Task Force, first convened in 1993 by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and The Center International Lesbian and Gay Association, is advocating for reform of discriminatory immigration laws. A key part of this effort includes collecting personal stories from couples, as well as other information, that can be used to educate people, particularly those in the broader lesbigay community and those involved in "straight" immigration groups. Barney Frank, an out gay congressperson from Massachusetts, has told the task force that the best thing they can do is to form coalitions across the United States at a grassroots level to create a movement for change. This means establishing chapters of the task force in regions across the United States. These chapters would participate in local grassroots organizing, provide a support group for same-sex bi-national couples, and collect more personal stories from these couples. People in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco have expressed interest in establishing chapters in their areas. People from other areas of the United States are also needed to establish chapters in their regions. A representative from the task force, Deborah Sherry, will come to Washington, D.C., to help those of us here get things started on the weekend of Sept. 10. If you are in the Washington, D.C., area, please get in touch with me: alshettle@gallua.gallaudet.edu alshettle@gallua.bitnet and let me know what day/time would be best for you to meet that weekend (the exact meeting time and location is up to us, and has not yet been set). People from the Washington, D.C., area may also call Luis Troche at his voice mail number, (703) 370-4623. Deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired TTY users in the D.C. area may call me during business hours at (202) 651-5671 (TTY). If you are from anywhere else (or, if you would like, even if you are from Washington, D.C.), E-mail Deborah at: deb@dorsai.dorsai.org to express interest in establishing a task force chapter in your area, to request information on the task force, or just to share the story of your relationship--how you met, how long you have been together and under what circumstances, and how you have been affected by INS refusal to recognize your relationship. The more stories the task force can collect the better. These stories show the variety and magnitude of people the law affects. You may also write (or send donations or stories to): Lesbian and Gay Immigration and Asylum Rights Task Force c/o Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund 666 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Or call: Lavi Soloway (212) 995-8585 -- but keep in mind that things can get pretty hectic over there. The immigration rights task force is staffed entirely by very busy volunteers. Those of you in the D.C. area: I look forward to hearing from you, even if you cannot join us on the weekend of Sept. 10. Andrea Shettle-Sutton alshettle@gallua.gallaudet.edu