Australian In The House

[Drover]

Originally Posted by AussieG

what the!!!!! since when did my need to meet other Australians become the political forum for debate.

When you brought politics into it....

[OWH]

AussieG is obviously very frustrated. Frustrated in her pursuit of happiness. Frustrated at the inability to find gainful employment, despite being qualified. Frustrated in the laws of the land, that while may reflect the will of the majority, are undeniably unequally applied in this land of equality. Frustrated at having to defend her views and feelings yet again, to people she doesn't know, when she was trying to reach out for help. Frustrated in her attempts at citizenship despite trying to jump through the beuracratic hoops.
So it is easy to understand why those frustrations might be vented against Bush. Not because he is the sole engineer and force behind legislation, but because as president he is a symbol of the United States and everything it stands for, both good and bad. Bush bashing is inevitable because he represents the entire spectrum of US actions and laws even the ones he himself disagrees with. In this case, he also has personal views that because of his position get a lot of air time and media attention, and so it is also valid to challenge his personal views, that she happens to disagree with, which may have nothing to do with the law.
The beauty of living in the US is personal freedoms are honored and respected. You can be in the minority and still voice your opinions without fear of being thrown in jail or beheaded. The worst you are likely to suffer is the criticism of other contrary views that are expressed in a public forum.
There are plenty of non discrimination laws on the books. It seems proper that we should not penalize people because of race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation or even weight, but we are also aware that those ideals are not always applied uniformly in our society. Not so long ago, slavery in this country was legal. Wrong, but legal. Women were not allowed to vote. Today, those ideas seem ludicrous but they were the prevailing opinions of the time. Perhaps someday in the future gays, lesbians and other unpopular groups will be afforded the same oppurtunities and privileges as everyone else, without even wondering why today it is such a hot topic for discussion.

Now should be the time to get back on track and have the responses from this point forward be about the original thread "Australian In The House" and her pursuit to find other Australian to network with.

[Anonymous2604]

You may want to try the diversity lottery which has opened for 2007. If you win, you will be able to get the VISA you need to legally work and live in the U.S.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...0045f3d6a1RCRD

You may also want to look into possibly marrying in Massachusettes, which I believe still allows same sex marriage...I may be wrong though b/c I know there are many attempts to challenge this.

http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/gaymarriage.html (broken link)

Your best bet if you decide to go this route would be to contact a Massachusettes lawyer or some sort of gay rights group which could lead you in the right direction to see if you can still be denied a VISA if you are legally married in MA as your spouse could then sponsor you. This is a tough situation though and I fear that you may be told they don't have to honor your same sex MA marriage.

Alternatively, if your partner is willing, they can immigrate to Australia - I believe Australia does have a VISA for same sex partners.

I wish you the best of luck...I can sympathize with the pain of being apart from someone you love, and your situation makes it that much more difficult.

[AussieG]

Originally Posted by Anonymous2604

You may want to try the diversity lottery which has opened for 2007. If you win, you will be able to get the VISA you need to legally work and live in the U.S.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...0045f3d6a1RCRD

You may also want to look into possibly marrying in Massachusettes, which I believe still allows same sex marriage...I may be wrong though b/c I know there are many attempts to challenge this.

http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/gaymarriage.html (broken link)

Your best bet if you decide to go this route would be to contact a Massachusettes lawyer or some sort of gay rights group which could lead you in the right direction to see if you can still be denied a VISA if you are legally married in MA as your spouse could then sponsor you. This is a tough situation though and I fear that you may be told they don't have to honor your same sex MA marriage.

Alternatively, if your partner is willing, they can immigrate to Australia - I believe Australia does have a VISA for same sex partners.

I wish you the best of luck...I can sympathize with the pain of being apart from someone you love, and your situation makes it that much more difficult.

Just wanted to say thankyou for taking the time to read this and provide some valuable and informative information. I had no idea that Australia had such a visa and it was a nice surprise to read about it. It has certainly made me feel alot better knowing that if the US is not workable then we can move back to Australia. My partner was excited too. We are going to look into it further.
As for the marriage in Massachusettes idea, well unfortunately the Federal government does not recognise it for the purpose of immigration.....I missed out on the diversity lotto last year which was unfortunate. I did not know about it until after the closing date, so will have to wait for the next one to come up. It opens in November.
So I appreciate the sympathy regarding being seperated from your loved one. Are you in the same vote? is your partner /husband/wife in another country???
Have a great day and thanks again

[PixurMan]

Welcome to the US mate..Love your accent... If you really want to go to school here, go South of the border, sneak across the river, and when you get back to this area, our state government would be glad to help you with subsidized living and discounted college fees.. This WOULD be funny,, but.....
Anyway, would love to trade places with you.. Good luck..

[Nausikaa]

Google for Pulaski's Ways - it will tell you how you legally can live in the US. Very difficult though.

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by AussieG

hmm I thought perhaps that you would read between the lines and realise that the reason I CANT get married is that the US government does not recognise same sex marriage. Mr George Bush and the rest of his Republican army think that same sex relationships are not valid and have amended the constitution to state that marriage must be between man and woman....

Wow, have you got some nerve. You come here from another country as someone's gay partner, and then you bash George Bush and his "republican army" just because the US won't let you two marry?? As another poster pointed out, the vast majority (i.e. almost 100%) of countries of the world do not allow gay marriage. So just what makes you and your like-minded cohorts think that we in America should have any obligation to cater to your sexual preference? That kind of thinking could open up a huge can of worms.
Gays have it pretty good in this country with their gay parades, publications,
pridefests, positive portrayals in the news and entertainment media, etc., etc. Don't rock the boat.
And when you or your friends try to have this post deleted or moved, remember that YOU are the one who politicized it with your Bush/republican bashing, and sarcastic reference to the "grand old country" of America not letting you marry.

[MKERock]

If you're looking for fellow Expats, I humbly suggest the Milwaukee Bombers Aussie Rules Club (and the associated Australian social club). We try to keep an eye out for wayward Aussies, especially if they might be interested in having a kick. The website is [url=http://www.milwaukeebombers.com]Milwaukee Bombers[/url] and if you'd like to email me, I can put you in touch with the Aussies club. (I'm a footy player)

Rock

milwaukeebombersAThotmailDOTcom