Lujza Nehrebeczky was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, and came to the U.S. in 2001 for college. In 2003 she met the love of her life, Joy, and decided to come out as lesbian. Eight years after they met, Lujza and Joy were legally married, but because of the Defense of Marriage Act, Joy cannot sponsor Lujza for citizenship.
Lujza has to remain a college student indefinitely in order to stay in the U.S. with Joy. She hopes to earn a Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and become an English instructor for immigrant students. Although Lujza is not undocumented, she stands in solidarity with her DREAMer friends and is honored to be a part of this project.
I’m hoping that with the holding action of Lujza’s continued schooling, advice from a Gay Legal Counselor could help Joy and Lujza to stay together. Good luck, sisters!
Barbara, thank you so much for your kind words. We have consulted an immigration attorney specializing in the cases of binational same-sex couples. I don’t have a lot of options for permanent residency until DOMA is overturned. I don’t qualify for a work visa right now, but that could be a future possibility. My safest bet is to stay in school and take it one day at a time. Joy and I have been together for 9 years, and we will not be separated.