Uniting American Families Act

Currently, when an American citizen marries the citizen of a foreign country, special rules are in place to generally allow the family, including children, to reside in the US legally and permanently. As you might imagine, given the federal government's stand on gay rights, no such protections are afforded families with gay couples at their head.

A bill has been introduced in both the House and Senate to help right this injustice, the Uniting American Families Act. I have contacted both my Congressman and my two Senators, urging them to support the legislation. You can find contact information for your legislators here.

Dear xxx,

As your constituent, I'm writing to urge you to support S. 1328/H.R. 2221, the Uniting American Families Act - legislation that will finally grant qualified same-sex couples equal access to our country's most basic immigration rights. This bill is sponsored by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

One of the fundamental principles of U.S. immigration law and policy is the notion of family unification, which allows citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor their spouses (and other family members) for immigration purposes. Unfortunately, under current federal law, same-sex couples committed to spending their lives together are not recognized as "families."

Every year, thousands of same-sex couples are separated or live in constant fear of being stopped by officials who demand to see documentation and threaten detention. In some cases, same-sex partners face prosecution by the Immigration and Naturalization Service - including hefty fines and deportations. U.S. citizens are sometimes left with no other choice but to immigrate with their partners to a country with more fair-minded immigration laws.

Sincerely,

John Q. Public
555 Main Street
Anytown NY 55555

14 May 2007