What is the Uniting American Families Act?

The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) is a bill
presently making its way through the United States
Congress. If passed, the legislation will likely have a
major impact upon the way US Immigration benefits are
administered to same-sex partners of American Citizens and
Lawful Permanent Residents. Specifically, this bill would
allow same-sex "permanent partners," to obtain a US
immigrant visa.

In response to many American states legalizing or
discussing legalization of same sex marriage, the American
Congress promulgated the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The act maintains that marriage is defined as a union of
matrimony between two people who are of the opposite sex.
The effect of the Defense of Marriage Act upon United
States Immigration law is important because before DOMA a
legally executed marriage in the United States would be
considered a marriage in the eyes of United States
Immigration law and therefore could act as a basis for
filing an I-130 petition for an Immigrant spouse visa.
Since the Defense of Marriage Act, a same sex couple that
is legally married (even in a jurisdiction in the United
States that recognizes same sex marriage, like
Massachusetts) cannot obtain US Immigration benefits
because the marriage is not recognized as such under DOMA.

The Uniting American Families Act would create a separate
Immigration category under United States law that would
allow "permanent partners," of United States citizens or
lawful permanent residents to immigrate to the United
States. The language of the proposed bill is clever because
it invents the term "permanent partner," and thus
circumvents the definition of marriage articulated in the
Defense of Marriage Act. From a non-theoretical
perspective, even though United States law would not
acknowledge the domestic/foreign couple's marriage, it
would grant the couple comparable, if not equal, rights as
other couples vis-a-vis immigration benefits. As time goes
on and more local jurisdictions begin recognizing same sex
marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act will become somewhat
innocuous and irrelevant because many of the several states
will recognize the union and Federal benefits will be
granted based upon the usage of different terminology to
define the relationship.

An intriguing facet of the Uniting American Families Act
from the perspective of a practicing US Immigration
attorney is the prospect of establishing that a couple is
in fact a "permanent partnership." I suspect that proving
the bona fides of such a relationship will require more
evidence due to heightened scrutiny on the part of USCIS
adjudicators and consular officers at diplomatic posts
around the world. In a way, the permanent partner visa will
be somewhat akin to the K1 visa because the underlying
relationship necessary to obtain a K1 is not a legal
marriage, but instead a bona fide relationship in which
both parties have the intent to marry upon the alien's
entry into the United States. If "permanent partnership"
becomes the legal requirement for certain immigration
benefits, then the requirement of marital intent will
probably be rendered immaterial because of the continued
legality of DOMA. Thus the applicants for a visa based upon
"permanent partnership," will be left in a position where
they only need to prove that they have an actual ongoing
relationship.

Please be advised that this writing is intended to be used
for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal
advice. No attorney-client connection is formed between the
author and any reader of this article.

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Ben Hart is a US Immigration Lawyer in Bangkok Thailand. To
contact Integrity Legal please email
info@integrity-legal.com or call Toll Free 1-877-231-7533.
See the firm on the internet at
Http://www.integrity-legal.com

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