| Obama Administration Response |
| June 15, 2009 - USCIS issued Guidance Regarding Surviving Spouses of Deceased U.S. Citizens and their Children in a memorandum dated June 15, 2009. This memorandum provides temporary relief in the form of legal status and the chance for work and travel authoriation, not permanent immigration benefits.
June 9, 2009 - DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced she would stop deporting widows and widowers and their children, and would also give "deferred action", a kind of temporary status that allows work authorization, to those affected by the widow penalty. The temporary period of these benefits will be two years. READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE.
Although SSAD welcomes the temporary gesture, Secretary Napolitano did not announce that she would give resident status to widows and widowers. Instead, she said that "legislation is required" to end the widow penalty. Without stating explicitly that she is doing so, she has upheld the widow penalty by denying lawful permanent resident status to surviving spouses. This is an untenable resolution, and we urge Congress to act on the Legislation immediately. If Congress passes a bill, the problem will be solved.
Until Congress remedies the problem, however, we will continue to litigate the issue in the federal courts. The Circuit Courts of Appeal in the First, Sixth and Ninth Circuits have held the widow penalty unlawful, and only the Third Circuit has agreed with Napolitano, and that case is being prepared for a Supreme Court appeal.
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February 16, 2009 - SSAD Pro Bono Counsel Brent Renison issued this Memorandum to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on behalf of SSAD members, outlining the regulatory, legislative and litigation options to immediately address the widow penalty. Please use this document to contact the Obama Administration and Secretary Napolitano's staff, and urge them to follow the recommendations contained in the memo.
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SSAD Memorandum to Secretary Napolitano |
| January 30, 2009 - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced today a wide-ranging action directive on immigration and border security, requiring specific department offices to review policies to address, among other things, widows and widowers of U.S. citizens! According to Secretary Napolitano:
"Recent media accounts have highlighted the cases of widows and widowers of U.S. citizens who had petitioned for the alien spouse's immigration, but whose petitions were not adjudicated before the citizen spouse's death. Because of the death of the petitioning spouse, the petitions were denied. What are the regulatory, legislative, and litigation options that could be considered to immediately address the situation of these widows and widowers?"
It seems clear that the Obama Administration and Secretary Napolitano take the widow penalty seriously, realize that the situation needs to be addressed immediately, and have put out the call to the immigration agencies to report back to her by February 20 with a final assessment. We are all very happy to see the responsiveness of the new Administration to this pressing issue affecting widows, widowers, their children and American families. The approach of the new Administration represents a welcome change, and we are very hopeful that Administration Officials will move the issue in a much needed positive direction.
You can read the full Immigration and Border Security Action Directive here.
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