The Wilson-Eriksson family (from left to right): Sofie, Maya, Angie, David
By Katherine Reynolds Lewis
FORTUNE -- When Gordon Stewart met his partner Renato over a decade ago, he never imagined he'd have to leave his country of birth for his relationship. But since 2005, Stewart, a Pfizer vice president, has lived in London and commuted regularly to New York because same-sex partners of U.S. citizens can't immigrate to the U.S. the way that heterosexual spouses can.
Pfizer moved Stewart to London because the couple could live there together legally, after U.S. officials refused to renew Renato's student visa halfway through his planned four years at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. "It takes a significant commitment from both Pfizer and me to maintain this relationship," says Stewart. "If I didn't have this opportunity, I would've had to choose between my partner and my career."
Now, Pfizer (PFE) is one of a few dozen large employers, including Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs (GS), and Medtronic (MDT), that are pushing to change immigration law through the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would let U.S. citizens and permanent residents sponsor their same-sex partners for citizenship. The bill has attracted 143 co-sponsors in the House and 30 senators, and should benefit from the momentum on both immigration and LGBT rights coming out of last month's elections, argues Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, a national nonprofit that advocates for equal immigration rights for LGBT people.
MORE: Wall Street's Italy problem isn't just Berlusconi
"The timeline is really dramatically speeded up by the attention to immigration reform that came out of the election," as well as state ballot initiatives in favor of LGBT rights, Tiven says. "We're seeing an enormous amount of energy on the Hill and a lot of optimism."
Broad immigration reform is seen as a top priority for the White House and Congress starting in January, when newly elected lawmakers take office. In November's elections, Maryland and Maine residents voted to legalize gay marriage, but the federal Defense of Marriage Act supersedes state law when it comes to immigration. Minnesota voters defeated an anti-gay marriage measure, and voters in Wisconsin, New York, and Rhode Island elected openly gay national lawmakers. More
The total cost to attend Stanford's prestigious business school has jumped by $18,242 in just two years, besting Columbia as the world's most expensive MBA program.
By John A. Byrne
(Poets&Quants) -- Stanford's Graduate School of Business has leapfrogged the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Columbia Business School to become the most expensive two-year MBA program in the world, according to an analysis by Poets&Quants.
This year, Stanford is telling applicants that MORE
Dec 7, 2012 1:53 PM ET
Can the gaming company learn from the likes of Blockbuster and Borders and avoid a common fate? By Shelley DuBois
Shelley DuBois, writer-reporter - Dec 7, 2012 10:48 AM ET
This year marked several wins for companies that want to shield themselves from shareholders. Pension funds and others are now gearing up for a fight for investor rights.
FORTUNE – In many ways, 2012 has been the year of investor class-based perks. A few cases in point: The Facebook (FB) and Carlyle (CG) initial public offerings (IPOs), both with dual class shares; preposterous defenses of privileged share classes during Google's (GOOG) stock MORE
Eleanor Bloxham, CEO of The Value Alliance - Dec 6, 2012 1:30 PM ET
A business etiquette expert tells how to take the awkwardness out of playing Santa at the office.
FORTUNE -- Dear Annie: This is my first holiday season with my current employer -- I'm in my first "real" job after college -- so I hope this isn't a dumb question, but what is generally expected in big companies regarding gifts to bosses and coworkers? I interned all last year at a small MORE
Anne Fisher, contributor - Dec 6, 2012 10:20 AM ET
The burger chain is testing the waters for home delivery as part of a larger push to go from fast food straggler to industry frontrunner. By Chip Lebovitz
Dec 5, 2012 1:31 PM ET
Bonuses at many companies this year are likely to be lackluster. Next year is looking even tougher. By Anne Fisher
Anne Fisher, contributor - Dec 5, 2012 10:38 AM ET
Reduce carbon emissions? Move away from seacoasts? Or hunker down and wait for the next big blow?
FORTUNE -- I think we can all agree that there's far too much $!@#$ weather going on around here. It's one thing when you read about it or see it on YouTube or TV, the $!@#$ weather causing distress for people in faraway places. You can feel bad for them, send money to the MORE
Bing - Dec 5, 2012 5:00 AM ET
How companies can weather changes in their starting lineups.
By Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large
FORTUNE -- Talk of a dynasty swept the baseball world recently when the San Francisco Giants won their second World Series in three years. But hold on -- only one of this year's starting players, catcher Buster Posey, was a starter on the team that won two years ago. How can any team be a dynasty when MORE
Dec 5, 2012 5:00 AM ET
Eric Sinoway's Howard's Gift explores Harvard B-school legend Howard Stevenson's distaste for that particular HR cliche along with his novel ideas on achieving a satisfying career.
By Brian Dumaine, senior editor-at-large
FORTUNE -- Howard Stevenson,a professor who started the now-legendary entrepreneurship program at the Harvard Business School, was walking through Harvard's campus one day when he suffered a massive heart attack. Luck had it that he fell to the ground near MORE
Dec 4, 2012 11:17 AM ET