Gay Man Being Deported Because Marriage Not Recognized

MyFox New York


Josh Vandiver (left) and Henry Velandia

MYFOXNY.COM - Henry Velandia and Josh Vandiver married in Montville, Connecticut on August 29, 2010. Henry Velandia is in deportation proceedings because the Defense of Marriage Act prevents Josh Vandiver from sponsoring him for residency.

Josh Vandiver was born in Colorado. He graduated from Harvard in 2004 and studied at Oxford before beginning his Ph.D. program at Princeton in political theory.

Henry Velandia was born in Venezuela. He came to America in 2002. He is a salsa dancer and teacher, performed on Univision's Mira Quien Baila, and is the founder of HotSalsaHot dance school.

Vandiver goes before his immigration judge in Newark, N.J., on November 17, 2010.

The couple hopes Valandia's deportation can be delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Defense of Marriage Act. In July, a lower court ruled it unconstitutional.

Legal experts say the couple's chances are a long shot.

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