If you read the testimony of those in same-sex couples who have sacrificed their homes and their relationships with families and friends because of U.S. immigration law, you may think how romantic.

Because these stories will not transport you to dreamy la-la land. These stories may generate some heat, they may make you hot, they may inspire passion, but of the fierce angry variety, not of he romantic kind.

Immigration law in the United States — a nation of immigrants, a land of freedom — lags behind many other nations.

Reform is a must.

And U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has had the answer for about eight years now.

Nadler is the sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act in the House of Representatives. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

The legislation would allow Americans in same-sex relationships to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes.

Existing immigration law allows for a U.S. citizen to sponsor his or her spouse for immigration, a coveted “green card.”

Nadler and Leahy, with a growing list of sponsors in both chambers, essentially want to amend the Immigration and Naturalization Act to add “permanent partner,” which would be defined as an adult in a committed, intimate, financially interdependent relationship with another adult.

A study for Immigration Equality by the University of California estimated that about 36,000 Americans and their bi-national partners are impacted by the failure of existing immigration law to recognize their relationships. An estimate derived from the 2000 Census put the number at 40,000.

U.S. law essentially can force these couples into divorces, extended separations or major relocations away from good friends and close relatives. U.S. policy affords no recognition of these relationships and guarantees no rights.

I have read the testimony of a U.S. citizen who left the United States to be with her partner in England, and lost the opportunity to say good-bye to her dying mother.

I have read the testimony of a U.S. citizen who left the United States to be with his partner in Spain, giving up a high-paying job as an attorney for a low-paying job as a busboy.

I have read of U.S. citizens and their bi-national partners who have lived in limbo, who have lived in fear and who have lived with harassment.

I have read of U.S. citizens who gave up their homes and their country to be with their love.

And I have read of U.S. citizens who gave up their love to stay home, in their country.

The proposed Uniting American Families Act is a simple remedy.

No one loses with the passage of this legislation, and bi-national gay families certainly win security, safety and a chance at the American dream.

A number of other countries already allow their citizens to sponsor permanent partners or same-sex spouses for immigration, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Immigration law in the United States — a nation of immigrants, a land of freedom — lags behind many other nations.

Reform is a must.

And U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has had the answer for about eight years now. The answer is H.R. 1024 “to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents and to penalize immigration fraud in connection with permanent partnerships.”