WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of supporters of immigration reform from across the nation will march in Washington on Sunday, and organizations like Immigration Equality are urging LGBT activists to join the cause.

Organizers are predicting that 100,000 people -- including perhaps 500 from Immigration Equality -- will gather on the National Mall to demand immigration reform from Congress.

In 2006, a study conducted by Immigration Equality and the Human Rights Campaign revealed that the U.S. immigration system systematically discriminates against LGBT people and their families by denying immigration benefits to the foreign-born same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

The study, titled "Family, Unvalued: Discrimination, Denial, and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples under U.S. Law," also highlighted the personal immigration issues faced by several LGBT families. What follows is some of their stories.

Ayla and Connie
Ayla is a Turkish citizen and Connie a U.S. citizen. Ayla has family in the U.S. but because she is a lesbian, they refused to sponsor her. She applied for the diversity visa lottery and was deemed eligible in 1995, but was denied because of a prior overstay on a separate visa.

Ayla was trying to find a permanent way to remain in the country when the two met. They were married on June 14, 2004. The marriage, however, is not legally recognized for immigration purposes. This fact forced the two into exile in Canada where they could be together and live in lawful status.

“I’m so grateful that we could come to Canada and stay together as a couple, but the U.S. is our home,” Connie says.

Chris and Felipe
Felipe is a citizen of Colombia and has spent several years and thousands of dollars obtaining employment-based visas to remain in the U.S. He initially came to the U.S. as a student and to work as a geologist. Felipe and Chris met when Felipe was considering returning to Colombia to pursue his career.

“I met the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” Felipe says. This life-changing event, while joyous, meant that Felipe now had to organize his life around obtaining a work-related visa.

This led to Felipe being overqualified and underpaid in exchange for a work visa. To maintain his work visa, he struggled with workplace exploitation and constant anxiety. “I’m very surprised that Chris and I are together today. We really love each other … very few people would put up with what we’ve been through to stay together,” Felipe says.

Immigration reform and LGBT inclusiveness
According to 2000 Census data compiled by the Williams Institute, an estimated 36,000 LGBT binational families are impacted by the inability to sponsor their partners for residency, and 47 percent of those are raising children. Existing, discriminatory immigration laws hurt not only those individuals, but their extended families, communities and employers, as well.

In February, 60 members of Congress issued a letter calling on President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to pass legislation to end discrimination against LGBT immigrant families.

“No one,” the letter stated, “should be forced to choose between the person they love and the country they call home. It is time that our immigration laws kept families together instead of tearing them apart.”

The political debate about immigration reform and the mainstream media coverage is likely to focus on illegal immigrants, but true comprehensive reform is about much more than that. Not everyone can participate on the march in Washington but there other ways to get involved.

Take Action
Immigration Equality is a national organization fighting for equality under U.S. immigration law for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-positive individuals. They have set up an Immigration Action Fund and produced the short film listed below.

Their Web site also makes it easy for you to contact Congress, provides letters you can sign and mail and other resources so that you too can demand equal immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Esther Rubio-Sheffrey is a Staff Writer for SDGLN. She can be reached at (877) 727-5446, x711 or at esther@sdgln.com.