No Immigration Rights for Gay Couples

Mel Terry and his partner have been together 28 years, but the federal government could split them up any day.

Terry’s partner is not in the country legally and because the San Francisco couple are gay, immigration benefits that allow heterosexuals to bring current or future spouses into the country are not available to them.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 36,000 bi-national same-gender couples in the country, not including couples not living together or those who hid their status from census takers. Bi-national couples are those where one partner is a citizen or permanent resident and the other is a citizen of another country. Click here.

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