Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) has signed on as an original cosponsor of H.R. 717, the Reuniting Families Act.

Under current law, it is very difficult for same-sex couples to sponsor a foreign-born spouse for a visa. Legal application for citizenship or for a green card should have no bearing on sexual orientation. Furthermore, families who have followed proper legal immigration procedures have waited upwards of 10 years in an attempt to receive visas. There is no reason why law-abiding families should be separated for such a long period of time. This bill would end the immigration law bias against same-sex families, set a 10-year maximum waiting period for a green card, and would significantly reduce the backlog of immigrant family members by exempting them from numerical caps. This bill highlights the need for comprehensive immigration reform for law-abiding people.

To read more about H.R. 717, click here.