Olivier and
Steve
26/06/08 10:28
Olivier De Wulf is from Belgium.
Steve Boullianne is from Los Angeles.
Thirteen years ago they met, and now they
live in San Francisco with their two
adopted boys, Laurent, 5, and Reece, 4. If
they were straight, they could marry, and
De Wulf would be granted U.S. citizenship.
If they lived in Belgium, they could get
married, and Boullianne could become a
Belgian citizen. But their two boys could
not stay with them for more than 90 days
because of a quirk in Belgian law designed
to prevent mass immigration from the former
colony of the Congo. Even California's
liberal domestic partnership law is of no
help when it
Read more
San Francisco Chronicle. Steve and
Olivier met in Belgium when Steve was
abroad working for AT&T. Upon
returning to San Francisco, Steve
spent the next two years trying to
secure a visa for Olivier to join him
in the U.S. Olivier sacrificed his
engineering career in Belgium to work
for a firm that would sponsor his
visa. The firm eventually closed its
doors and Steve and Olivier were faced
with the likelihood of being pushed
out of the U.S. due to visa issues.
Read
more Steve and Olivier, Laurent and
Reece (photo: Chronicle, 2004, by
Kim Komenich)
Tags: San Francisco Chronicle,
LGIRTF, Immigration Equality,
gay immigration, equality