Lesbian and gay Americans and permanent residents will still not be able to sponsor their loved ones for permanent residency. LGBT organizations and coalition partners will vigorously protest, but at the end of the day, we will still be left out in the cold.

LGBT families are standing up and challenging everyone to see their humanity. By reaching out to our neighbors, families, co-workers, fellow congregants, employers and friends, and by living open and honest lives, we have changed the hearts and minds of more than 100 million Americans.

LGBT undocumented immigrants live in the shadows, marginalized by society's bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity and immigration status. Shedding light on their numbers is a start in getting them out of the dark.

As part of our Family Friday series, every week we spotlight one family, share the story of their love and send lots of love and support to them from ...

Long before immigration reform was the hot topic it is today, Judy Rickard and her wife, Karin Bogliolo, were in the trenches spreading the word about the harsh reality for same-sex binational couples trying to remain together in the U.S.

President Obama, you can ensure that Becky and Sanne's green card petition is not denied but put on hold until either the Supreme Court strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act or Congress passes an immigration reform bill that includes the gay partner provision you put forward.

Unfortunately for Ivo, ignorance regarding bisexuals may have contributed to his deportation hearings. Ivo tells me that he was interrogated by USCIS on his sexual orientation as officers sought to prove his marriage valid since he had been reported as homosexual.

After 16 years it's clear that the only thing the Defense of Marriage Act defends is institutionalized bigotry. The letter we received from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, solidifies that fact. It was all there in black and white.

Now, if President Obama is re-elected, he can issue an executive order recognizing legally married same-gender couples, granting them immigration and other benefits. Judging from the past four years though, the chances of this happening are slim to none.

Although the Evangelical Immigration Table has as one of its principles the protection of "the unity of the immediate family," I expect some, if not most, of these new "allies" not to fight for the dignity and worth of LGBT immigrant families like mine.

The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services issued a memorandum last week that updates the Adjudicator's Field Manual, a guide binding all agency staff overseeing immigration procedures. USCIS will now issue immigration documents that reflect an individual's gender identity.

While the White House has said it cannot approve green cards for lesbian and gay spouses because of DOMA, what it has failed to tell the LGBT community is that it can hold those applications -- rather than deny them -- as the courts and Congress decide DOMA's ultimate fate.

Lenora Brandoli's son John married his long-time partner, Trinidad native Michael Thomas, last year. Sadly, Thomas was recently denied a stay in his deportation case, leaving the family in fear that one of their own will be forced to leave them.