A Second Life artist who goes by the name "Eshi Otawara" faces real-life deportation due to the so-called "widow's penalty" in immigration law.
The artist, whose real-life name is Irena Morris, is a Croatian immigrant who lives in Florida. Her American husband died suddenly, when they'd been married less than two years, while her application for residency was in progress. According to U.S. immigration law, the application is automatically rejected once the American spouse dies. Morris received formal notification from U.S. immigration authorities last week that her application was terminated, and she's ready to be deported from the U.S. at any moment.
This is absurd. Widows? Why?
Email Congress and tell them what you think! Let them know they have your support for doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteThere are several organizations working on this. Here's a link to one that helps with those messages to Congress.
http://www.ssad.org/takeaction.html