Immigrant is to be granted residency

The husband of an undocumented Chinese immigrant who miscarried twins during a deportation attempt last year probably will be allowed to stay in the country permanently, his attorney said yesterday.

New York lawyer Theodore Cox said federal authorities had moved the case of Philadelphia resident Tian Xiao Zhang, 36, from immigration court to an administrative track.

Instead of having to argue his own case for political asylum, Zhang will be considered the spouse of a woman already granted legal residency.

Earlier this month, a judge approved asylum for Zhen Xing Jiang, 33, whose case sparked international headlines.

On Feb. 7, 2006, she was 13 weeks pregnant with twins when she arrived at the Center City immigration office for what she expected to be a routine interview.

Instead, as her family sat unaware in the lobby, Jiang was taken into custody and driven to John F. Kennedy Airport. Her deportation was halted when Jiang, complaining of stomach pain, was taken to a hospital and doctors learned she had miscarried.

Jiang said that she was roughly handled and that her pleas for medical help were at first ignored, allegations the government denied.

The couple had applied for asylum based on China's one-child birth-planning policy, which they maintained could result in severe punishment were they to return to their homeland. Their three sons were born in the United States and are citizens.

Cox said resolution of Zhang's case could take 18 months.

"Pretty much these things are always granted," he said yesterday. "He'll be fine."