DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has granted deferred action for two years to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens—as well as their unmarried children under 18 years old—who reside in the United States and who were married for less than two years prior to their spouse’s death. 

Secretary Napolitano also directed USCIS to suspend adjudication of visa petitions and adjustment applications filed for widow(er)s where the sole reason for reassessment of immigration status was the death of a U.S. citizen spouse prior to the second anniversary of the marriage. 

Additionally, ICE will defer initiating or continuing removal proceedings, or executing final orders of removal against qualified widow(er)s and their eligible children. USCIS will also consider favorably requests for humanitarian reinstatement where previously approved petitions for widow(er)s had been revoked because of the law. 

DHS will soon issue guidance instructing the public on how to apply for this relief. These directives apply regardless of whether the citizen filed a petition for the alien spouse before death. Deferred action is generally an act of prosecutorial discretion to suspend removal proceedings against a particular individual or group of individuals for a specific timeframe; it cannot resolve an individual’s underlying immigration status. Individuals granted deferred action may apply for work authorization if they can demonstrate economic necessity. 

While Secretary Napolitano’s directive provides a short-term arrangement for widow(er)s of deceased U.S. citizens, legislation is required to amend the definition of “immediate relatives” in the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit surviving spouses to remain indefinitely after the U.S. citizen spouse dies, enabling them to seek permanent resident status. For the full text, please click here. 

As we reported earlier, in a federal distict court litigation in the West Coast on this issue, the court ordered a similar but much limited relief order that applies only to those who are residents in Circuit 3 an 6 jurisdictions despite the nationwide class action lawsuit. In order to give a full relief, a Congressman introduced a legislative bill last month to give the same relief which the Secretary Napolitano is granting in the form of deferred action. 

As the Secretary states above, the law must be amended to redefine the "immediate relatives," and the pending bill is intended to achieve the full relief which the Secretary has alluded to. Big Hats Off to Honorable Janet Napolitano for the admirable humanitarian decision. For the development of pending judicial relief litigation and the legislative relief bill, please stay tuned to this web site. 
http://www.greencardfamily.com/news/news2009/news2009_0615.htm

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