UNITING AMERICAN FAMILIES ACT how it would work from HRC
How will the measure work?
Once the measure is enacted, bi-national same-sex couples will have to meet the same requirements as bi-national, married couples. Some requirements include providing proof of the relationship — including affidavits from friends and family or evidence of financial support.
The UAFA will apply the same standards to same-sex couples that the United States applies to opposite-sex couples where one member is seeking to bring a foreign partner into the country. As with current immigration laws for married couples, the UAFA would impose harsh penalties for fraud, including up to five years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines. In addition, if the partnership is dissolved in less than two years, the legal immigrant status of the partner would be revoked.
Under the measure, a permanent partner is any person 18 or older who is:
1. in a committed, intimate relationship with another adult 18 or older in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment;
2. financially interdependent with that other person;
3. not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, anyone other than that other person; and
4. unable to contract with that person a marriage cognizable under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
What is the status of the bill?
UAFA will be reintroduced in the House and Senate in the 110th Congress. In the 109th Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the measures. The House bill had 116 cosponsors, and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Senate version had 14 cosponsors and was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
From HRC