Congress signs US immigration bill to end Widow's Penalty
October 22 2009 by Liam Clifford
The US immigration law regarding deportation of foreign widows is set to change.
Congress
has this week signed a bill that will abolish the US immigration law so-called ‘Widow’s Penalty’,
which has the power to deport foreign widows of US citizens if they die before
the couple have been married for two years.
The legislation, which is
part of a new Homeland Security bill for US immigration, would enable widows to submit a petition
seeking residency even if the couple were married for less than two years when
the spouse died. This would enable the widows to continue to live in the
US.
Many of the women affected have young children and feel they couldn't
leave the US to visit family abroad in fear that they will be denied re-entry to
the country they now call home.
Hundreds of women have been affected by
the cruel law, including women whose husbands have been killed in Iraq and those
whose husbands have met an untimely death due to an accident.
The root
of the law is a 1970 court ruling that stated the death of a husband stripped
his wife of her US green card, and thus her right to live in the US, as she was
no longer classified by US immigration as a spouse. Later, in 1990, a ruling was brought in that
allowed women to stay in the US if they had been married for two years before
the death.
However, this of course did not go far enough for a handful
of women, who will now be hoping President Obama signs the bill as expected.
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