subject: Green Card Bill Passed For Spouses Of Deceased Us Citizens [print this page] A bill has been passed by the US Congress to make widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, eligible for green cards despite the deaths of their spouses before the approval of their applications. Several widows and widowers of US citizens like Dahianna Heard, Raquel Williams, and Ana Maria Moncayo-Gigax have fought a long, legal battle to be eligible for USA citizenship due to the untimely death of their spouses. This news brings new hope to them.
Earlier, the foreign national spouse of a U.S. citizen was granted a conditional green card till the marriage is two-years old. Towards the end of two years, they should jointly apply for a permanent green card for the spouse, removing the condition. This was done to ensure that no pretense marriages for the sake of getting a green card took place. Unfortunately due to the sudden death of the spouses, many, as seen in the cases of Dahianna Heard, Raquel Williams, and Ana Maria Moncayo-Gigax, were deprived of green card eligibility.
This new bill that forms part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill does away with the widow penalty that required the couple to be married for two years before the surviving spouse can apply for USA citizenship.
Not only hundreds of widows and widowers were not granted green cards due to this harsh penalty, a few unlucky ones were deported by USA Immigration. But the federal government has now declared a halt to all deportation proceedings concerned with green card eligibility for two years. But some immigration attorneys still feel this doesnt do justice to those already deported.
Now, green card eligibility will be granted irrespective of when the spouse died or how long have the couple have been married. In addition to the surviving spouse, green card application can be submitted for their children also.
