Jamaican Widow May Soon Benefit From Change In Immigration Law
October 26, 2009
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Oct. 26, 2009: A Jamaican widow who under U.S. immigration law faced deportation because her husband died before their second wedding anniversary is among thousands who could soon benefit from a change in the law.
The U.S. Congress moved late last week to finally approve legislation that would abolish a provision known as the "widow`s penalty." With a 79-19 Senate vote, Congress voted to end the policy last week.
Under current immigration regulations, widows or widowers, and their children, may apply for a green card only if they were married to their deceased spouse for at least two years prior to his/her death. This rule has left many individuals who were married to their deceased U.S. citizens for less than two years facing deportation.
Jamaican Osserritta Robinson faces this problem because her husband, Louis Robinson, died before their second anniversary. Robinson`s husband was among 11 people killed in the Staten Island Ferry accident in October 2003.
Now she and her attorney hope they can benefit from the legislative change.
The end of the widow`s penalty is part of a bigger Homeland Security bill that President Obama is expected to sign. The congressional action came as the requirement was under legal attack all over the country, including a class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles and individual litigation in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio and Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement praising Congress "for supporting the widows and widowers of U.S. citizens who otherwise would have been denied the right to remain in the United States." The new law was championed by Rep. Jim McGovern and Sen. Bill Nelson.
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