Photo Credit: Shayne Kaye (Flickr)Applying for any form of status, legal permanent residency or United States citizenship, is not an easy process. But imagine how much harder it is when your spouse dies—not only do you lose your partner in life, but, typically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) gives you the “widow penalty.”
Historically, the widow penalty prevents widows/widowers of deceased U.S. citizens from obtaining legal permanent residency if their spouse dies before they have been married for two years. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) created an interim program of relief for widow(er)s, due to the overwhelming amount of immigrants in this situation called deferred action on June 9.
Click here to fill out the USCIS I-360 for deferred action.
Quick deferred action facts:
- USCIS will NOT proceed with removing an alien for a specific time period of two years
- Involves a temporary suspension of any form of adjusting status
- If granted, an alien will be eligible for employment and travel authorization by filling out necessary forms (I-131: application for travel document)
- The decision cannot be appealed
According to a fact sheet released by the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association, surviving widow(er)s whose spouses were U.S. citizens and died before their second marriage anniversary, are eligible for deferred action if they:
“1. Were married to, but not legally separated or divorced from, their U.S. citizen spouse at the time of that spouses death;
2. Did not remarry; and
3. Are currently residing in the United States, regardless of whether the U.S. citizen spouse filed an I-130 petition for the foreign spouse before his or her death.”
Deferred action also applies to qualifying children of the survivor if the child is under the age of 21, not married, and currently lives in the United States.
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