In August 1994, Stephane learned that his mother was gravely ill. He immediately traveled to France to be with her, preparing to return to the United States on his E-2 visa which he had extended shortly before he left the country. Unfortunately, due to some error in communication with the INS office in Liguna Niguel, Marty and Stephane were given the wrong advice in connection with the extension of the visa. When Stephane returned from his visit with his mother, the Immigration officers in the Detroit airport would not permit him to re-enter the country. Stephane recounts that he was rudely questioned, threatened and told that he would have to return to France. Finally, after hours of argument he was paroled into the United States pending an exclusion hearing. Stephane was forced to surrender his passport, and he was photographed and fingerprinted before he was released from custody.

After returning to San Francisco, Stephane consulted with a lawyer and had his exclusion hearing transferred to that city from Detroit. He also sought to have his hearing expedited so that he could clear up the problems and free himself for future travel. This was not to be the case, however. Unfortunately for Stephane, his exclusion hearing was not scheduled quickly and he was forced to remain in limbo, waiting for an opportunity to present his case. He did not dare travel outside the country at this time Read More "Oh Canada, Glorious and Free" (photo: LGIRTF; Immigration Equality archive)

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

"We Feel We Are Two of the Lucky Ones" Mark Lipman and Jonty Somers met on Queen's Surf Beach, Honolulu in August 1991. Mark was touring with a Broadway musical as a pianist and assistant conductor. Jonty was soaking up the warm Hawaiian summer sun before returning to face the winter in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he lived and worked as a lawyer. After several days spent talking by the sea, finding common interests and a mutual attraction (and one thing leading to another) the two men faced a tearful goodbye. "We knew that after barely a week, we had Read more LGIRTF Founders Find Happiness Together At Last In New Zealand (photo: LGIRTF; Immigration Equality archive)

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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

Liz Ohle and T.A. Loeffler, LGIRTF members who appear in the documentary "Love Knows No Borders," are now living in St. John's Newfoundland. Liz's application was approved and she became a "landed immigrant" this summer. Read More Two Americans Immigration to Canada to Join Their Partners + Danny and Brad (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive)

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

I do not know when I will see my beloved again because our love and commitment of over six years is not recognized or respected by the laws either of our countries. As we all are painfully aware, it doesn't have to be like that. Usually governments allow and even encourage binational couples by making immigration relatively simple for them. As a Lesbian couple, we are denied a basic human right: to live our lives together. This turn of events was devastating to us and affected the lives of our close friends and our community. With all our hearts we want to be together to build our lives together. Each day apart was excruciating and is made even more painful knowing that many couples like us suffer because of this cruel and discriminatory policy. Any heterosexual couple, regardless of the duration of their relationship or the depth of their love for each other is able to marry and remain together. Read more Immigration Issues Are Complex When One Partner is Disabled. (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive)

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

Whenever Antje and I travel to Germany together, we always do a rehearsal of what she will say when re-entering the United States. Even though all her papers are in order, she is completely legal and hasn't done anything wrong, we both get that feeling of paranoia that she is going to be detained, some official paper won't be recognized or she will in some way be harassed. I am always waved through and sit on the other side waiting....Straight couples in similar circumstances get married, and residency and work permits follow immediately. Lesbian and gay couples do not have this right. Finally, now, more than three years later, I'm "all set" with a good job and the prospect of being sponsored for a green card. There is sadness too, though, as my relief about being able to live with the woman I love is mixed with missing my home country, family, and close friends. Being a binational couple is no easy in any case. Being a lesbian binational couple, however, adds unfair legal treatment to the challenges you have to overcome. (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive) Read more Binational Lesbian Couple in Seattle Shares Their Story in Public Education Effort.

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

The couple were legally married in the state of Colorado on April 21, 1975, becoming one of six same-sex couples legally married by a Boulder city clerk. Later that year, Richard filed a petition to have Tony granted permanent residency as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. The petition was denied by the Immigration Service (INS), which responded, "You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots." The couple then began a ten year legal battle, suing the Immigration Service and trying to stave off Tony's deportation. We pick up the story in 1979. Tony and Richard had sued the INS in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleging unconstitutional discrimination. Judge Hill ruled that as a gay couple they were not recognized as a marriage for immigration purposes. They appealed to the Court of Appeals. In 1980, Tony's application for suspension of deportation on the basis that separating him from Richard would constitute extreme hardship was denied by Judge Griffin. Again, Tony and Richard appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

On February 26, 1982 Tony Sullivan was celebrating his fortieth birthday when he received a telephone call from a journalist asking him for his reaction to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in his case. Tony was stunned. The journalist informed him that the decision had been handed down a day before and was being widely reported in the media in San Francisco. Tony and Richard had lost their appeal. (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive) Read more Anthony Sullivan & Richard Adams, Plaintiffs in 1982 Case Against INS, Celebrate 25th Anniversary.

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

Claire cannot work here because she is on a visitor's visa. I've been a single parent for over ten years with no outside support. Claire looks for work, and has been on two job interviews. She is highly qualified, but with each passing day the tension grows as the expiration date of her visa grows nearer. She must find an employer to petition for her work visa. Our long term solution is to leave the United States and immigrate to Canada if no other options open up to allow to remain here together. Once Claire starts working we can save the money needed to send off the applications and to start a new life there. We'd like to move to Vancouver or Toronto, both of which are multi-cultural cities and have large lesbian communities. Choosing the right place to live for me is very important, not only as we are queer, but because Alicia is bi-racial. I get angry when I think that all three of us may be forced to leave our own countries to be together. We will leave behind all of our friends, families and colleagues and support network to face the challenge of creating a new life in a new country. (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive) Read more Claire & Kathleen: Four Years After Meeting On The Way To A K.D. Lang Concert, This Chicago Couple Shares Their Story

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality

After Amara's visitor visa expired and her savings ran out, the long months stretched into years during which she was unable to work in her profession because she did not have a work permit. Slowly, Amara's self-esteem sank lower and lower, exacerbated by her increasing dependence on me for financial support. We spent many hours and resources trying to find a legal solution to our dilemma, including going to lawyers, entering the green card lottery, negotiating with potential employers, trying to get the latest information and contacting other couples in the same situation. Throughout our-year immigration struggle, it was extremely frustrating to realize that if I had the same rights as most of my fellow (heterosexual) American citizens, Amara and I could have married and gone on with our lives like other couples. Then in 1993, a large endometrial cyst on Amara's ovary burst and we were suddenly faced with the difficult decision of using the last of my savings, or sending her back to Germany for the operation necessary to remove the cyst, with the risk that she would not be allowed to enter the U.S. again and we would be separated for good. (photo: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality archive) Read more Reflections From A Binational Lesbian Couple in Oregon.

Tags: LGIRTF, Immigration Equality, gay immigration, equality