Carla Freeman v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

This appeal concerns the fate of a young alien widow who seeks to remain in the United States notwithstanding that her citizen husband, to whom she was married for only a short time, tragically died in a car accident and, according to the government, thereby “stripped” her of her status as his “spouse.” Complicating the widow’s appeal is the fact that although she (along with her citizen spouse) had petitioned to adjust her status to that of lawful permanent resident, she entered the United States under the terms of a special visa waiver program that limited her to a 90-day visitor’s stay in this country and required her to waive her rights to contest the government’s decision to remove her. She now asks us, not to grant her lawful permanent resident status — something we cannot do — but rather, to determine whether she remains a “spouse” who can qualify for such status.

I. Background

Carla Freeman (Mrs. Freeman), a dual citizen of South Africa and Italy, met Robert Freeman, a United States citizen, while she was temporarily working in the United States as an au pair. The Freemans became engaged and thereafter were married near Chicago, Illinois in February 2001. Shortly after…