Partner Immigration Bill Arrives in Senate

A new bill introduced in the US Congress would allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex domestic partners for immigration purposes. The bill aims to bring the rights of same-sex couples in line with those of opposite-sex couples in permitting the couple to reside together permanently in the US. "Our immigration laws treat gays and lesbians in committed relationships as second-class citizens, and that needs to change," said US Senator Patrick Leahy, who sponsored the bill in the Senate. A companion bill in the House of Representatives has already gained the support of over 25 percent of representatives, a figure the bill's supporters expect to rise now that a prominent Senator such as Leahy has signed on with his support in the Senate. Gay and lesbian rights groups in the US have praised the bill's introduction as a step towards ensuring greater equality for gay and lesbian families of mixed nationalities. If the new bill becomes law, the US would join a growing list of Western countries that permit sponsorship of same-sex partners for immigration purposes. – YaleGlobal

Partner Immigration Bill Arrives in Senate

Ahmar Mustikhan
Monday, August 4, 2003

SUMMARY: U.S. gay rights groups praised a bill introduced last Thursday by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to extend immigration benefits to same-sex couples.

U.S. gay rights groups praised a bill introduced last Thursday by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to extend immigration benefits to same-sex couples.

A similar measure is pending in the House, with 115 co-sponsors.

The bill, called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (PPIA), seeks to modify the federal Immigration and Nationality Act to provide same-sex partners of American citizens and lawful permanent residents the right to join their loved ones on U.S. soil.

"Our immigration laws treat gays and lesbians in committed relationships as second-class citizens, and that needs to change," said Leahy, while introducing the bill in the Senate.

"We applaud Sen. Leahy for leading the effort in the Senate to ensure that federal law protects families instead of tearing them apart," said Winnie Stachelberg, political director at the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign. She added, "We urge the Senate to pass this important measure."

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., originally introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and again in 2001.

The Gay & Lesbian Immigration Rights Task Force (LGIRTF), in a press release, said thousands of couples face the eventuality of being separated when U.S.-issued visas expire.

"The introduction of the Permanent Partners Immigration Act in the Senate comes at a critical time, as U.S. immigration law tears apart more and more couples and families," said Suzanne Goldberg, chair of the LGIRTF.

Adam Francoeur, LGIRTF program coordinator, told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network, "With 115 House members, including three Republicans -- Jim Colby (Ariz.), Rob Simmons (Conn.), James Greenwood (Pa.) -- it has passed the one-quarter mark in the House of Representatives." He added support for it may snowball with Sen. Leahy's fresh companion bill in the Senate.

"It just depends on when the committee may vote on the bill and then it may be presented before the full House. On the previous two occasions, the committee did not vote on the bill at all," Nadler's spokeswoman Jennie McCue told the Gay.com/Planetout.com Network from Washington.

Love Sees No Borders, an organization dedicated to ending the plight of LGBT binational couples, hailed the Senate measure. "For the past three years our work has been limited to working with Congress members fully knowing that any success would be limited in scope because we lacked a companion bill in the Senate," said Leslie Bulbuk, co-founder of the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based organization.

Currently, U.S. immigration law does not allow lesbian and gay citizens or permanent residents to petition for their same-sex partners to immigrate, as such partners are excluded from the definition of family. According to HRC, about 75 percent of the 1 million green cards, or immigrant visas, issued per year go to family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

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