Biracial & Binational Relationships

Love Makes a Family : Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Families by Gigi Kaeser (Photographer), Peggy Gillespie, Kath Weston (Introduction)

A great picture book about human relationships (Kelsh and Quindlen's Siblings is a recent shining example of the type) focuses on families in which the parents are lesbians, gay men, or transgendered persons, and the children are either offspring of one of the parents or adopted or foster children of one or both parents. Adding further diversity are biracial couples; parents and children of different races; children with impairments; and families that include nonresident members (e.g., a parent's grandfather in one case, the other biological parent in others). In the manner of this kind of book, photoportraits accompany statements by those portrayed (except for tiny tots). The thrust of the whole project is that these good families differ from those of analogous heterosexual parents only in that they do or may suffer from antigay social attitudes and antigay public policies. The book complements a four-year-old traveling exhibition that comes in two versions: one for elementary-school students, the other for teenagers and adults.  -- Ray Olson

What I enjoyed about this book is that it covered not only the people like me (gay, male, plans to have children), but it also gave me an insight into some others who have very different lives but the same issues of "alternative-ness." It actually contained a few surprises and gave me some ideas about how a family could be built from things I'd never considered before. -- David Vasquez

If an image is worth a thousand words, then Love Makes a Family, a book of photographs by Gigi Kaeser, edited by Peggy Gillespie, speaks for itself. The book's vivid black and white photographs and personal stories send a powerful message about diversity in America. Together, the images and text challenge heterosexual assumptions and stereotypes. With more than 40 family portraits and personal interviews, the book captures the essence and experiences of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and transgender families of all kinds... -Terrance Lee Pitts, Washington Blade, June 11, 1999

Sky Daddy by Canaan Parker

Being a black teenager and gay is hard enough. But discovering your father is gay also is just too much to handle. The teenager finds that not only that his father is gay but is having an affair with a white youth. Funny and gripping worth picking up to read  -- Anonymous Review

Coming to America: The Immigration Obstacle Facing Binational Same-Sex Couples

This is an article from  Southern California Law Review, 73, 811 (2000), Christopher A. Dueñas

Excerpt:

Advertisements like those above appear every week in gay and lesbian newspapers all across the country. For many binational gay and lesbian couples, arranging mutually beneficial "sham" marriages is a last desperate attempt to make a life together in America. Even though the consequences can be severe if they are caught, current American immigration law often leaves binational same-sex couples feeling that they have no other option. Under the family reunification provisions of the immigration laws, gay and lesbian Americans in relationships with foreign nationals have no legal way to bring their partners into the United States. The foreign partner would have to qualify independently, usually by demonstrating some special skill that is needed by employers in the United States. This is very difficult to do, as many people lack the specific skills sought by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Even if they possess these skills, they would still be subjected to the strict quota limits on legal immigration. U.S. immigration law would also tear apart a foreign same-sex couple if one of them were to get a job in the United States. Under current law, the spouse of a married heterosexual person would be permitted into the country, but the partner of a gay man or lesbian would have to be left behind...

Challenging Discrimination Against Gays and Lesbians in U.S. Immigration Law

Excerpt:

Until 1991, homosexuality was a grounds for exclusion from admission to the United States under section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Before the implementation of the Immigration Act of 1990, this law provided for the exclusion of gays and lesbians as sexual deviants. The Immigration Act of 1990 eliminated sexual deviancy as a ground of exclusion, therefore gays and lesbians may no longer be barred from admission to the United States on this basis...

Immigration — Facts & Resources

These resources are from Buddy Buddy.  You can find info on the law, petitions, and more.