Many lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are currently living in the United States, separated from their families.

These are mostly young families — a husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child.  They are waiting for their I-130 petitions (petition for relative) to be approved.  The current waiting time is 5 years.

While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit.  The permanent resident, on the other hand, must reside predominantly in the U.S., otherwise they lose their permanent residency status.

Immigration law is splitting them.

Help UniteFamilies.org rectify this problem.  Explore our web site to learn more about this issue and discover what you can do to help.

what's new?

June 9, 2009: State Department Visa Bulletin for July released.  Priority date for Mexico is June 22, 2002.  Priority date for all other countries is December 22, 2004.

June 4, 2009: Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA-15) along with 61 other House members introduced the House version of the Reuniting Families Act — H.R. 2709.  More....

May 20, 2009: Senator Menendez (D-NJ), along with Senators Gillibrand (D-NY), Kennedy (D-MA), and Schumer (D-NY), introduced the Reuniting Families Act.  If enacted, this bill will reclassify spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives, thus eliminating the backlog.  More....