A Stamford man's deportation from the United States has been delayed, but supporters say it won't be long enough for the lifesaving kidney surgery he needs.

Nelson Santos has had severe kidney failure for the past 3 years. He has a donor and is ready for a kidney transplant.

While it was announced at a rally Thursday in Hartford that Santos has been granted a six-month stay by immigration officials, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York says he needs to be in the states for a year in order to get the transplant.

Santos has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, married a U.S. citizen and has three children who are also citizens. He has a pending deportation order from 30 years ago that he says he never received, but immigration officials say his time is up.

Santos held back tears thinking about having to get treatments in his native Honduras.

"They're not going to have the medication over there," he says. "They don't have the money."

Gov. Dannel Malloy and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy say they are working to get Santos more time.