Friday December 30, 2005 SGN.org |
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Volume 33 Issue 52 |
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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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Deadline looms for immigrants to apply for residency under 1986 law |
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| Deadline looms for immigrants to apply for residency under 1986 law | ||
| Love Sees No Borders urges all LGBT immigrants who fit certain qualifications to seek legal advice
Love Sees No Borders announced today that a program that would allow undocumented LGBT to file for permanent residency expires this Saturday, Dec, 31. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act allowed about 2.7 million undocumented immigrants to obtain legal residency in the United States. But many, about 250,000 were rejected because they left the country during the grace period that ranged between 1982 and 1987, even for short trips for purposes such as visiting an ailing parent. The League of United Latin American Citizens successfully filed a lawsuit challenging the idea that these trips disqualified such applicants. The federal government filed numerous appeals and the case dragged on for years, finally settling last year. Beginning in May 2004 the qualifying immigrants were allowed to apply for legal-resident status as long as they entered the U.S. before 1982. According to yesterday's L.A. Times, applicants must submit proof that they were in the country from 1982 through 1987, that they traveled out of the country during that time and that they tried to apply for amnesty. The evidence could include school or medical records, rent receipts and tax returns. Because most immigrants do not keep a paper trail dating back more than two decades, they also can submit declarations from friends and family members to bolster their cases. Love Sees No Borders urges all LGBT immigrants who may fit these qualifications to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Love Sees No Borders is not a legal organization and cannot provide assistance to people who may qualify for adjustment of status. Some organizations that may be able to help are: o League of United Latin American Citizens: www.lulac.org/programs/immig.html o Immigration Equality: www.immigrationequality.org o Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund: www.lambdalegal.org o National Center for Lesbian Rights: www.nclrights.org o Catholic Charities USA: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org o Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services: www.lirs.org/What/partners/ISPs.htm o Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund: www.maldef.org About Love Sees No Borders Love Sees No Borders is an organization dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of same-sex binational couples in the United States. Our work includes media outreach, public speaking, coalition building, and other educational activities. For more information about the organization and how to support our efforts through a donation, please visit www.loveseesnoborders.org. A Love Sees No Borders press release |
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International Readers |
 
It's new!A blog created by the SGN staff so you can be heard |
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"Putting on the Ritz |
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