Brandon Perlberg fled the United States
to be with his boyfriend, Benn Robert Storey, who is British.
The couple's love affair started in New
York, where Storey was working as a graphic designer on a temporary
visa.
Unable to gain a green card based on
his employment or on his spousal relationship, Storey, 31, was unable
to remain in the United States.
In 2011, New York legalized marriage
for gay and lesbian couples. But immigration law is based on federal
statutes. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), gay
Americans are not allowed to sponsor a spouse for citizenship.
Facing the prospect of being forced to
split up, Perlberg reluctantly left his law firm, rented out his
apartment and moved to London. He received a resident visa from
Britain within 48 hours.
“Ultimately, we resolved that staying
together was the most important thing for us,” Perlberg, 34, told
The
New York Times. “And the only way to guarantee that we got
to stay together was by making this move.”
“It's very difficult as an American
to have gone through all that and know that the country just pushed
us out for being in love,” he added, “and being gay.”