We met through a mutual friend. Fell in love instantly. First meeting we were inseparable for 2 weeks. We cried when I had to leave. He thought I would be gone forever. I called him from Hawaii and he cried but it was a happy cry, because he knew we fell in love. It was very emotional. Today we are separated by many miles of water, many islands and countries. We meet online now 2 times a day for an hour at a time. I can financially only visit him on occasion. We wish that we could live in the USA but without the immigration laws to change it would force us to move elswhere. I will go back in September. I just wish he was coming back with me. Time passes. Our love is so strong....

(Photo; personal; "The Philippines our first happiness together. My LOVE. Sometimes I think we will be separated forever because my country is to slow to regognize that we are human and need to be with each other. Our bonding is a true bonding of love. Time passes but our love is strong. He is Filipino, Me American.")

Tags: USA, Phillippines

We met back in July 2005 via Yahoo! personals. It seemed like an odd way to meet; but whatever works. After about 3 months I got on a plane to Manila and we met in person. We are both Certified Rescue Scuba Divers. We go diving together all the time when I am [in Manila]. In October 2007 I was with him for a month. We went diving in Thailand and then the Philippines for a couple weeks.

We have tried to immigrate to New Zealand, but his visa even failed for that country. So we are really stuck now. It seems the only option is to endure the long distance, seeing each other occasionally and having the internet to keep us connected daily. The only way for us to get fair immigration policies is via the courts. After 2 years and 8 trips to the Philippines from the States, I don't know how much longer we can wait on things to change. I know it's tough for all of us in this situation. Find Gregg and Carlos' story on about.com's "gay life" gallery by Ramon Johnson.

(Photo: Personal, Gregg Walls, Gregg and Carlos)

Tags: USA, Phillippines

Shirley Tan's calm and happy life — San Mateo County housewife, mother of twin 12-year-old boys, singing in the church choir — blew up at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 28, with a knock on the front door.

Within minutes, the immigration agent standing there had the 43-year-old Tan in handcuffs. She is scheduled to be deported to her native Philippines on Friday.

If Jay Mercado, Tan's partner of 23 years and the mother of her sons, were a different gender, it's highly unlikely that knock ever would have come. As a U.S. citizen, Mercado could have sponsored a wedded spouse for legal permanent residency. But although Mercado and Tan married in San Francisco in 2004, federal law limits the definition of marriage to a man and a woman, and same-sex partners of U.S. citizens don't have a route to legal permanent residence extended to straight married couples. It might be too late for Tan and Mercado Read story, "Binational, same-sex couples face immigration problems" by Mike Swift, Mercury News.

(Photo: by Maria J. Avila, Mercury News. Shirley Tan and her twelve-year-old son Jashley Mercado solicit help from their Rev. Piers Lahey at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pacifica on Saturday March 28, 2008. Tan, the mother of two boys, is scheduled to be deported to the Phillipines on Friday April 3.)

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Tags: USA, Phillippines