This is good news, they should be on a case by case basis and not just an automatic "widow penalty". - - Donna Poisl
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON –
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge tentatively ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reopen the cases of 22 people who were denied green cards because their American spouses died during the application process.
U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled the so-called widow penalty doesn't necessarily require that immigrants' permanent residency applications be denied when their American spouses die. Citing a 2006 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Snyder ruled this week that applicants don't lose their status as spouses of U.S. citizens if the death occurs before the government rules on their applications.
The decision, if made final, would be a victory for more than 200 people across the country who have been affected by the widow penalty, said attorney Brent Renison, who filed the class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
2 comments:
While I can see some suspicions being raised in this case (if there were obvious health issues at time of marriage, large age discrepancies, etc.), I agree that the death of a spouse should not carry a possible loss of a green card visa along with it. That is just cruel and unusual punishment, and that's not what this country should be about.
Mike is exactly correct, again. We absolutely cannot punish the spouses of immigrants who obeyed the process and earned their way to residency. In my view, these people should be granted an immediate unconditional green card visa upon the death of their spouse, as long as their does not exist a cloud of suspicion around the death of the immigrant in question.
Post a Comment