Tim Coco and Genesio Oliveira were legally married in Massachusetts in 2005, but are just now starting their life together after immigration issues kept them apart for years, the Boston Globe is reporting.
Coco lived in Massachusetts while his husband Oliveira lived in his native Brazil. Their forced separation came all because Federal law does not recognize gay marriage. Because, unlike straight couples, gay/lesbian partners cannot sponsor their immigrant spouses for legal U.S. residency.
This week, Federal immigration officials finally granted Oliveira temporary permission (one year) to stay on humanitarian grounds to pursue legal residency status. Why the change of heart? Mass U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, enlisted the help of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the couple’s behalf.
“We’re overjoyed. Words can’t express it,’’ Coco said yesterday from their home. “Every new moment now is a fresh new moment in our life.’’
Kerry called the couple heroes in a statement, “Here were two people who loved each other and were as committed to each other as you could ever imagine, and a quirk in the law was being allowed to keep them apart. I just wanted to do everything I could to reunite them.’’
This is just one of the many horror stories that members of the LGBT community have to endure on a daily basis in their fight for equality. And this issue could turn out to be one of the main arguments against the Defense of Marriage Act.
After over 3 years of forced separation, over $250,000 spent in legal fees and other expenses and over hundreds of nights where their only interaction is over the internet, the couple is finally reunited and able to make a home together.
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