At the end of her international best-seller Eat, Pray, Love, author Elizabeth Gilbert begins another, unexpected journey: After falling in love with “Felipe” in Bali, she returns to the United States, hoping to continue their relationship and build a life together.

Gilbert’s plans, though, hit a temporary snag. She quickly learns from U.S. immigration officials that Felipe will be unable to remain with her in the U.S. unless the two are married. After being “sentenced to wed,” as Gilbert later recalled the experience, she also quickly realized that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples do not enjoy the same opportunity to keep their families together.

For Gilbert, the realization was also a wake-up call. On September 30th, she will join the Immigration Equality Action Fund in Washington to lobby Congress on behalf of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) – a critical piece of legislation which would allow LGBT Americans to sponsor their foreign-born partners for residency, just as Elizabeth did.

You can join Elizabeth and call on Congress to end discrimination against LGBT binational families.

Three easy ways to join Elizabeth's advocacy:

Stand with Elizabeth Gilbert as she speaks out for LGBT binational families. Together, we can ensure that no family is faced with an unacceptable choice between family and country!

If you’re a member of the media, click here for information on Elizabeth’s upcoming visit to Capitol Hill, including recent interviews and press releases.

If you are a reporter who is interested in interviewing Elizabeth, or attending our September 30 press conference in Washington, email Steve Ralls at sralls@imeqactionfund.org.