Senate Panel Backs Bill to Allow Widow to Stay in U.S.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that would grant permanent residency to a Korean woman who lives in Sherman Oaks and faced deportation because her husband was killed by robbers in a Reseda restaurant.

“It’s great,” Maihoa “Jasmin” Salehi said in reaction to the news. “It’s not done yet, but hopefully it will end soon so I don’t have to worry about it any longer.”

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials sought to deport Salehi because her husband, Cyrus Salehi, a U.S. citizen, was slain before they had been married two years, the period required to establish residency in her own right.

Immigration officials had said they would allow Salehi to stay in the country only until the prosecution of her husband’s killers was completed.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) sponsored legislation to allow the widow to remain in the United States.

“It’s a matter of compassion,” said Susan Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Feinstein. “She did everything right. She played by the rules and she obeyed the law. If it were not for the tragic death of her husband, she would have permanent resident status.

“A technicality in the law requires the couple to be married for two years. She was just shy of that. She should not be denied permanent residency because of the tragedy. We hope this will help Mrs. Salehi to begin to put her life back together.”

The bill now heads to the Senate floor for approval. No date has been set for a vote. Kennedy said Feinstein is confident the bill will pass the Senate because such private relief bills are seldom controversial.

Cyrus Salehi was gunned down in February 1996 by robbers who burst into the Denny’s restaurant he managed in Reseda and demanded cash. He handed over $400 from the cash register but was fatally shot.

Samuel Martinez, 19, and Ruben Lopez, 20, were sentenced to life in prison without parole in the killing.

INS Commissioner Doris Meissner has assured Feinstein that Salehi will be allowed to remain in the country while the senator pursues the legislation to grant her legal status, officials have said.