Is there a paper version of the form?

Done! Cantwell, Murray, McDermott. Nosing around, looks like that form has become notorious the last couple years.

This has been an ongoing issue which should be easy to fix, yet no one has bothered. It has been screwing over all types of families for a while now.

@1: Believe it or not, this particular has to be done online. I was under the impression that the ds-230 form could be completed instead (this one is a paper form), but I imagine the family above would have already looked into this, and I am likely wrong.

By the way, 61% of the world does not have access to an internet connection.

The US is not the only country to make it difficult for their own citizens, and many times harder for non-citizens.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Lines at embassies and consulates even for a tourist visa for people outside of the rich countries (visa free countries for tourist travel) are immense.

Years before 9/11 I had straight friends who were separated from legally married non-US spouses for OVER A YEAR. I realize this case is different (both US citizens, trying to get their kids in, an online form), but it's part of a system that's been broken for a very very long time, an inhumane system that is set up to keep people out and it keeps getting worse, even for full citizens who have every right to be here with their kids.

Other western countries are bad too. Especially if you are have no money, are dark skinned or both. Yes, countries have to limit immigration somehow there are too many people in the world with too many income inequalities to do away with all borders this century, but we could do a much much better job.

@6: very true. My husband and I are both white immigrants and had no problem coming here together with me on a spouse visa. Friends of ours who are Indian had to do the year's separation thing. I felt really bad for them, and guilty that it was so much easier for us, when our circumstances were otherwise identical.

Wouldn't the kids be dual US/Canadian citizens, then? If so, it seems like the alternate route would be to get their US passports so that visas would not be required.

Err, shit. Obviously in the case of adoption or whatever, they wouldn't be dual citizens. Derp, sorry.

Sounds like this is a job for a federal judge, to order the relevant department to accept the information in writing, with a deadline to act upon it. Call the clerk's office in your federal district court and ask them if there's any way you can do this yourself. Otherwise, you need a lawyer.

jeffy, I didn't get to read your pulled comment. But I don't think Dan pulled it. I think someone found it deeply offensive, reported it, and the system administrator, going by a rule that Dan alone probably didn't make up, decided it violated a trolling policy.

I don't know about you, but I don't think that having compassion for one group of people undergoing deprivations keeps me from having compassion or sympathy for another group of people having some different deprivations, both because of stupid government policy and ineptitude.

I can be outraged at the inhumane treatment of more than one group of people at a time. And just because some people have it worse than this guy, it doesn't negate the suckiness of his situation.

@13 - is it because you've got some weird disorder in which your capacity to empathize must meet very, very strict requirements?

@15: Yeah, Dougsf, it appears that jeffy has exceeded his empathy quota and can't take any more. Guess people wanting compassion will have to sneak by and get it illegally.

@14+1 @15+1, right on, we all need more compassion.

Jeffy @13 -- yes I feel for people south of the border. My feeling for this family's plight does not detract from empathy for others.

One of the reasons people south of the border have such a hard time is *because* we give everyone a hard time and are a country sorely lacking in compassion. Gay people, white people, dark skinned people, pretty much everyone unless you are very rich or a major corporation has a hard time, some much harder than others. Even the rich sometimes get caught in the crossfire or politics and chewed up. We all benefit by more compassion. It's partly anger and lack of compassion that has permitted a system that is so broken to arise in the first place.

It's baffling to me why any gay couple, especially a gay couple with kids, would move from Canada, where they have full federal rights and protections, to the US, where they don't.

@18 - Get help man.

@18. Remain calm and carry on.

Hello Everybody,

I saw this story and created a petition on the US Government webpage. The petition needs 100,000 signatures to be looked at by the powers that be. Please help to get the word out so that we can help this family be together again. The link to the petition is: http://wh.gov/iqO2a . Thanks everybody! Jim

@ 24 .... my name is added. You are a mensch.

Signed the petition. Thanks 24 http://wh.gov/iqO2a