Green card on way for gay S.F. husband
With help from the Supreme Court and Bay Area congressional representatives, Anthony Makk and Bradford Wells have finally gotten the news they've been awaiting for years: approval of the green card that will spare Makk from deportation and let him stay in San Francisco to care for his AIDS-afflicted husband.
Two years ago, Makk was on the verge of deportation to his native Australia. His visa was about to expire, and his seven-year marriage to Wells - who could have sponsored an opposite-sex spouse for legal immigration status - was disregarded because of the 1996 federal law known as the Defense of Marriage Act.
But after the couple contacted gay-rights advocates, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stepped in, joined by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and prevailed on immigration officials to defer Makk's deportation for two years. And when that period was nearly up, the Supreme Court ruled June 26 that DOMA's core provision was unconstitutional - and more than 100,000 gay and lesbian couples, including Makk and Wells, suddenly became eligible for more than 1,000 federal spousal benefits.
One was the ability of a U.S. citizen to sponsor a noncitizen spouse for permanent legal residency. Six days after their interview at the local office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Makk and Wells were notified Monday that their application had been approved and that Makk's green card would arrive in a few weeks.
http://www.sfgate.com/lgbt/article/Green-card-on-way-for-gay-S-F-husband-4766087.php
Stories like this make it worth getting up in the mornings.
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