Yildirim Immigration Fund
Donation protected
I met my beautiful wife in Portland, Oregon on February 28-2003. I was American and she was Turkish. At the time we met, I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that our citizenship could threaten our young relationship. But due to my partner not being American, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 stopped me from sponsoring her for residency no matter what state we would marry in. What I did know was that she was my everything and I wasn't going to let the government separate us from each other so in 2005, we were forced to leave the USA to remain together.
I cannot tell in words how it felt to cross the border on January 5, 2005 and only because I was a second-class citizen. We both have lost friends, been disconnected from family, lost precious family members, and we have lost years of our lives that we cannot ever get back- due only to DOMA and our sexual orientation.
For eight long years, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) kept us exiled in Canada. Now that DOMA is gone we can finally plan to return home to the United States. This means of course legal and government fees. We need some help getting back home. Please consider helping a family in need and share with everyone you know.
Thank you for your support!
I cannot tell in words how it felt to cross the border on January 5, 2005 and only because I was a second-class citizen. We both have lost friends, been disconnected from family, lost precious family members, and we have lost years of our lives that we cannot ever get back- due only to DOMA and our sexual orientation.
For eight long years, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) kept us exiled in Canada. Now that DOMA is gone we can finally plan to return home to the United States. This means of course legal and government fees. We need some help getting back home. Please consider helping a family in need and share with everyone you know.
Thank you for your support!
Organizer
Connie Yildirim
Organizer
