Family Reunification
Two-thirds of legal immigrants to the United States arrive on family-based petitions, sponsored by a fiancé, spouse, parent, adult child, or sibling. "Family reunification" lies at the heart of the U.S. immigrations system. However, separating same-sex couples is a principle Congress favors. In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids recognizing same-sex partners as spouses or family members for any federal purpose, including immigration. Despite the gains that same-sex couples have made on the local level in some states, same-sex couples are not eligible for immigration benefits. Immigration recognition is completely controlled by the federal government, and federal law does not recognize same-sex couples for any reason, even if they are married in Massachusetts, California, or abroad.
Read more about this topic: Marriage In The United States, Green Card Marriages, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Immigrants
Other articles related to "family reunification":
... their right of free movement to gain European Union family reunification rights ... however, decided to avoid reverse discrimination by granting their nationals the same rights of family reunification as their non-national Union citizens ... and thus gain European Union rights of family reunification on his return, circumventing national restrictions ...
... by Eind and Singh, which confirmed that returning migrants continue to enjoy the family reunification rights they enjoyed while residing in another member state ... whereby a national of a member state circumvents national restrictions on family reunification by taking up residence in another member state, thus exercising his ...
... Under existing law, parents of United States citizens may be sponsored for immigration by their adult citizen children (those at least 21 years of age) under certain conditions ... The child must demonstrate the financial ability to provide for the parents ...
... continued to grow, largely through family reunification and transnational marriages ... the Danish People's Party and the Social Democrats began to call for restrictions on family reunification in order to control the growth of immigrant communities ... strength of European Union laws on freedom of movement for workers) and applied for family reunification there, taking advantage of the laxity of the Swedish laws in this regard ...
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“The family is constantly changing, as each member changes. Some changes we recognize as developments, and the pleasure they bring usually makes us more adaptable. Some changes threaten, or disappoint other members, who may try to resist the change, or punish someone for changing.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)