When my employer proposed a 3-year stint in London, I thought what any young gay American would think. "Fantastic!" Three years later, with a British partner and an expiring work permit, my prospects were suddenly much more limited. Back in 1997, neither the US nor the UK would recognize our relationship. So, we did what we had to do. We moved to Amsterdam as an EU citizen and his common-law spouse: united by love, exiled by law.
These days, we would be welcome back in Britain. And, if all goes well, we might even be welcome in the US soon. In April, Senators Reid (D-NV), Schumer (D-NY), and Menendez (D-NJ) announced their principles for truly comprehensive immigration reform including gay and lesbian families. Immigration rights for same-sex permanent partners have been on the table in every Congress since 2000, but now for the first time there's real hope of passage.
In 2006, Democrats Abroad first adopted a resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) declaring that the current situation "results in thousands of US citizens being forced into exile to be with foreign-born partners, causing unnecessary hardship, separation from family members and careers, and loss of valuable skills and resources for our country."
Last year, UAFA was one of five major issues affecting overseas Americans which Democrats Abroad members took with us to Capitol Hill for briefings with key Congress members and staffers. I also submitted written testimony on behalf of Democrats Abroad to the first-ever Senate hearing on UAFA. "My situation is not unique," I stressed to the Judiciary Committee. "Untold numbers of LGBT U.S. citizens, many of them members of Democrats Abroad, share my plight and yearn for this basic right freely granted to opposite-sex couples."
An immigration reform bill introduced last year in the House by Rep. Gutierrez (D-IL) does not similarly include the provisions of UAFA. So if we make it through the Senate, we'll be looking at a reconciliation process. Nonetheless, Americans abroad with same-sex foreign partners are looking at the best opportunity ever of gaining the simple right to return to our own country. Kudos to our Senate Democratic leaders!
Robert Checkoway
International Vice Chair, Democrats Abroad
Amsterdam, Netherlands
