WIDOW’S PENALTY HAS FINALLLY ENDED
The “Widow’s Penalty” references a foreign fiancé(e) who is denied immigration benefits when his or her U.S. citizen spouse dies before the fiancé(e) has a chance to obtain a green card.
I am pleased to announce that the Widow’s Penalty has finally come to an end.
The Congress recently approved the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report (HR 2892), which included an amendment to abolish the Widow’s Penalty. President Obama signed it into law. The new law has finally end the Widow’s Penalty.
The new law means that the death of a U.S. citizen spouse will no longer result in automatic deportation of widows, widowers and their children. The new law eliminates the two-year marriage requirement, permitting widows and widowers of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card for themselves and on behalf of their foreign-born children. It is also retroactive so anyone qualifying for relief can file a petition for permanent residency up to two years after passage of the measure.
Tiffany U. Vivo is an Indianapolis immigration lawyer. She also practices family law. Ms. Vivo appears before the Immigration Court (EOIR), the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and state and federal courts in Indiana and Illinois. She is a member of the Indiana State Bar, and the national and local chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Her immigration law offices are located in Indianapolis, from where she serves immigration clients across the country.
