Immigration officials have granted a reprieve to a gay South African man so he can stay on Long Island and care for his ailing spouse.

Tim Smulian, 65, was nearly forced to leave his seriously ill partner alone in the U.S. for six months because of restrictions to his tourist visa.

He married New Yorker Edwin Blesch, 70, in South Africa in 1999, and while their union is recognized by Immigration officials have granted a reprieve to a gay South African man so he can stay on Long Island and care for his ailing spouse.

Tim Smulian, 65, was nearly forced to leave his seriously ill partner alone in the U.S. for six months because of restrictions to his tourist visa.

He married New Yorker Edwin Blesch, 70, in South Africa in 1999, and while their union is recognized by

New York State, it did not give the pair any federal immigration benefits.

For more than a decade the couple spent six months a year in South Africa and six months on Long Island, but Blesch, who is HIV positive, suffered several mini-strokes and other complications and can no longer travel.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) intervened in the case, and officials have granted Smulian a one-year reprieve so he can stay at Blesch’s bedside.

“I am relieved to hear that Tim and Edwin are no longer living in fear of separation at a time when they need each other the most,” Gillibrand said.

“Loving committed couples deserve access to all the same immigration rights and protections as straight couples.

“I will continue to fight for LGBT immigrant families and push for reform that reunites families rather than tears them apart.”