NEW LAW ALLOWS SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS TO STILL OBTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS

President Obama signed into law on October 28, 2009 the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Conference Report that contained provisions granting self-petitioning rights to all widow(er)s of American citizens and their children; and 2) certain survivors’ rights to other immigrants. The law is now known as Public Law Number 111-83.
 
The law allows a widow(er) who was married less than 2 years at the time of the U.S. citizen spouse’s death to self-petition within two years of the law’s passage or until October 28, 2011. After this date, a self-petition must be filed within 2 years from date of death of the U.S. citizen spouse. Prior to the passage of this law, only widow(er)s who were married to their U.S. citizen spouse for two years or more were allowed to self-petition.
 
The new law likewise allows petitions that were filed prior to the death of the petitioner or the principal immigrant to be adjudicated despite the death in cases where the beneficiary or derivative beneficiary resided in the United States at the time of the death and continues to reside in the United States.
 
The law covers the following surviving family members: immediate relatives (spouse, parent, minor child of a U.S. citizen); family preference relatives (unmarried son or daughter of a citizen, married son or daughter of a citizen, spouse or child of a permanent resident, brother or sister of a citizen); employment-based dependents (derivative beneficiaries); refugee/asylee relative petition beneficiaries; nonimmigrants in “T” (victims of trafficking) or “U” (victims of crime) status; and asylees.