Immigrant Widows Left In Limbo

(CBS)  This story was first published on Nov. 23, 2008. It was updated on June 10, 2009.

Everybody loves a love story - everybody it seems, except the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In our post-9/11 world, immigration has become increasingly tough on, of all groups, widows.

A foreigner who marries a U.S. citizen is entitled to become a U.S. resident.

But Immigration has been trying to deport several hundred widows and a few widowers - foreigners who had been married to American citizens when the Americans died.

As 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon reported last fall, Immigration has claimed that if the widow did not complete the process to become a U.S. resident while her husband was alive, she cannot remain in the country.

The Obama administration inherited this policy and just last week came up with a possible solution.

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Raquel Williams, a young nursing student from Brazil, was visiting Florida when, one night, she and three girl friends drove into a gas station. They caught the eye of a car full of guys who were also getting gas.

"I guess they noticed that we were, you know, not from here," Raquel remembers, recalling when she first met her future husband. "Well, they're like, 'Oh, Where you guys from?' You know? 'Oh, my name's is Derek. Nice to meeting you.'"

That chance meeting with Derek Williams led to love, marriage, and eventually parenthood. Two years after they met, their son Ian was born.

But then the unthinkable happened.

"I woke up 4:30 in the morning, 5:00 and to find my husband laying on the couch. I could see that something's wrong. Get closer. And he's not breathing. And called 911 and they stay on the phone with me. And then I hear that they coming. And I said, 'Please, please. Oh, come fast. Fast.' And it was, he was, he was gone by that time," Raquel remembers.

Derek had insomnia, so he'd watch TV on their couch during the night. But he also had breathing problems and an irregular heartbeat, which proved fatal. After he died, Raquel and her son Ian moved in with Derek's parents, and three months after Derek died, Raquel finally had the immigration interview that she had been asking for for a year - the interview to prove that her marriage was legitimate.

She went to the interview with Ian, and brought all the documentation needed to prove she had been married to Derek; she also brought the death certificate.

"And I explained what happened. 'My husband pass away. What can I do from now? This is his death certificate,'" she remembers. "'Oh, your case, your case is gonna be denied.'"

"And they said, 'You're gonna have to go back to Brazil.' And I said, 'I have my son. You know? This is my son. He's American citizen.' And they said that, 'You can go. He can stay.'"

Ian was five months old at the time.

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[estadia]

I would love to see a special on problems that people suffer for YEARS from the service centers in my case the California service center, what takes most people five to six months to get a notice of action two on we have been waiting for two years, only explanation, your case is in back ground checks, we are not old enough or experienced enough to have done anything that could be a threat to any country.

He is a doctor i am a full time student and citizen of the USA. at this point in time i am facing having to make the choice to leave my country and my family as well as my schooling to marry my fiance and live over seas.

there is no valid reason for all of this and many of us suffer, with out any way to resolve what ever the issue is because its done in secret you are told nobody can touch your case as long as its in back ground check.

it could be as simple as they are waiting for information from one of his employers about his time in saudi working as a doctor there, if thats the case that information will never come as saudi does not supply anything if your not a saudi national.

I have written to both presidents that have been in office while our case has been waiting, as well as senators, congressman, and anyone else that will listen.

It seems that congressmen and senators are willing to accept just about anything that the service centers give out, in our case its in back ground checks.

I guess my question is when does enough time pass that the service center decides what ever they are waiting for is not going to come, will i be 30 years old, 40, 50?

I asked them just yesterday how much longer can this take they said up to one year or more in reality indefinitely if they decide to wait for what ever it is that they are waiting for that they are never going to receive.

our system for legal immigration is broken, many families are torn apart or never get to even start as a family as a result to the problems that the immigration system has.

i have never done anything criminal neither has my fiance, our only crime is falling in love and wanting to spend our life together.

he would be a real addition our community as i live in a rural area, i have seen a lot people allowed to complete their visa journey that do not have the education and the ability to contribute to their community and be such an asset as my fiance has. so i have to ask why are we being held back? what possible issues could their possibly be?
Is it because we are Muslim? Or are we just an unlucky couple that got caught in a crack in the service center with no foreseeable way out?

[sbbones1]

Brought to you by the same folks who want to control health records and ration care.

[alm7399]

I thought this episode was very well done. As a permanent resident that has recently gone through the process, I know all too well the ridiculous things that are asked and done, including delays and lost paperwork. Most people don't realize the amount of time, difficulty and expense that goes into the process. I certainly understand the need to complete a process but the process is broken. The only thing that stood between these women receiving their green card and being deported was their interview. They had already filed their paperwork, sent in their supporting documents and paid their fees. The interview that my husband and I drove 4 hours one way to attend, lasted no more than 5 minutes. Plenty of time to prove our relationship was legitimate...It is appalling that these women are being denied. INS forms state explicitly that widows, the abused and divorced applicants are still eligible. Perhaps the INS officials need to review their own rules and regulations.

[imara143]

What is an illegal alien? This is such a joke... come to Fairview New Jersey 07022, walk down Anderson Ave. They are all over the place. Their kids are in school, they get free lunch, free breakfast. You're not allowed to ask if they are legal. They work ( yes very cheaply), however they DO NOT PAY TAXES. They rent an apartment and 15 people move in. If they are hurt on the job they go to the hospital get the best care, and WE (the people who pay taxes) pay for that too. Then these poor women are given such a hard time.,.....l. GOOD HEAVENS somebody wake up the INS..... and they should do their jobs.

[vielmann]

Our US immigration department is one of the worst departments in the world. They have inconsistent policies and they willy nilly just pick and choose what things they will do. I have never seen anything like it. Furthermore, the system is so screwed up that it was the same system that allowed several people already on a known terrorist watch list to enter the country and do the 9/11 attacks, while having royal fits and denying entry to people they suspect will work in onion fields. Go figure.

[dartplayer501]

Why should these women pay for the ineptness of our beloved INS. At least with the new administrations they've been given time to do the interviews that they were denied by the former's policies.

[casionova]

There is a path to becoming a citizen of the US.
If people choose to ignore their requirements then they do not deserve to be US citizens.
Americans cannot ignore the IRS and expect to not be punished.
Why do some immigrants think they are exempt from laws and regulations?
They are not.
Posted by zonkzilla

They didnt ignore their requirements, they complied with them and they dont think they are exempt, if you read the article that would be perfectly clear.

[zonkzilla]

There is a path to becoming a citizen of the US.
If people choose to ignore their requirements then they do not deserve to be US citizens.
Americans cannot ignore the IRS and expect to not be punished.
Why do some immigrants think they are exempt from laws and regulations?
They are not.

[casionova]

I have not sympathy with illegal aliens ....be they men....or woman (widow or wideower).
These people knew what was going on before or during the process of filling out the paperwork.
By making an exception for one, we will make the flood gates open for anyone to enter. Natural born citizens are being penalized paying benefits for illegals while natural born citizens have problems finding work as US citizens.
To the in-laws of these widows....I say...if they feel so sorry for their daughter in'laws let them go back to the daughter-in-law's country and help her out, Let's see them give up the rich lifestyle they have in this country to help out....You won't see them do that !!!
Posted by bzcybergal

You seem to have missed the point that they were not illegals, they legally entered the country and married US citizens.

Also, Germany, Brazil and Kosovo are not third world countries. Living standards in Germany may even be higher than in the USA, so they were not fleeing famine and catastrophe.

[tooitu]

All that would be necessary to confirm the idiocy of the current system is the thirty seconds that you presented of Michael Chertoff's comments. If there is a better living example of the failure of the Peter Principle to weed out incompetence and mismanagement in government, I have never seen it. This man should be allowed nowhere near any organization that wishes to serve the public.