A bill passed by Congress Tuesday grants a victory to a small group of immigrants who risked being deported.
A provision attached to the $41.8 billion Homeland Security appropriations bill ends a controversial interpretation of federal law, known as the “widow penalty.” The clause required that a couple be married at least two years in order for the foreign spouse to qualify for legal U.S. residency.
Several hundred immigrants whose spouses had died before the two-year minimum were thrown into a legal fight to stay in the country.
The provision passed Tuesday removes 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 children born abroad.
Thousands of people are believed to have been deported under the 71-year-old law, according to immigration experts. Currently, another few hundred foreign spouses living in the U.S. had been trying to stave off deportation.
The provision permits the spouses to file a green-card petition within two years of the law’s enactment.
The Homeland Security Appropriations bill passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads to the White House.
