Immigration Equality - Call Your Members of Congress

Call Your Members of Congress

Thank you for taking the time to call your Members of Congress in advance of the reintroduction of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). Your call is crucial.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Find out who your U.S. House Representative is.

2. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your U.S. Representative.

3. Tell your representative’s staff:

I am calling to ask Representative ________________ to be an original cosponsor of the Uniting American Families Act of 2009. To cosponsor, he/she must contact Rep. Jerrold Nadler who is the lead sponsor.

The U.S. government discriminates against gay and lesbian binational couples by not allowing us to sponsor our foreign-born life partners for immigration. Because of this, we face the terrible choice of separating from the person we love or leaving our country. As Americans, we should not have to choose between family and country. Please ask Rep. _________________ to cosponsor the Uniting American Families Act of 2009 by reaching out to Rep. Nadler before February 12.

talking points about UAFA

• This Valentine’s Day, 37,000 gay and lesbian Americans face the prospect of being forcibly separated from the person they love.

• Gay and lesbian Americans in binational couples are forced to make terrible choices: interrupting careers, uprooting children, and leaving aging parents behind in order to be with the person they love.

• It’s unfair to force hard-working citizens to choose between their country and the person they love, just because they’re gay or lesbian.

• The U.S. government discriminates against gays and lesbians by forbidding them from sponsoring their life partners for residency in the United States.

• Gay and lesbian couples simply want the same opportunity to prove that their families deserve to stay together.

• Nineteen countries provide equal immigration benefits to gay and lesbian couples. The U.S. should join its allies – including Canada, Australia, Israel, and South Africa – that do not discrimination against gay and lesbian couples.

• Splitting families doesn’t just hurt gay and lesbian Americans – it hurts their parents, their extended families, their employers, and their communities.

• America is losing talented, tax-paying citizens, and American companies are losing talented employees because they are forced to move abroad to keep their family together.

• The Uniting American Families Act requires gay and lesbian couples to meet the same standard of proof as straight couples to qualify for immigration benefits. They have to go through the same interview process, they have to prove that their relationship is serious and committed, and the American has to sign a legally binding promise of financial support, even if the couple splits up.

• The Uniting American Families Act includes harsh penalties for fraud, including fines of up to $250,000 and up to five years in jail.

• Congress has a responsibility to move this bill forward and fix this huge inequity.

HOME ISSUES ABOUT US COMMUNITY PRESS ROOM IMMIGRATION BASICS RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS