widow of USC want to move to US (split topic)

[kevdman 5]

On 1/9/2013 at 4:14 PM, Hypnos said:

I wondered if there was any interest here in having me write up a guide for widow/er immigrant visas and AoS.

This is something I know a little about, and the existing stickied thread on the Effects of Major Changes forum here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/293551-change-of-status-as-widower/ is a little out of date.

If I wrote something to help anyone else unfortunate enough to find themselves in a similar situation, would that be ok?

Granted it's a niche area, but I would have appreciated finding something like it a year ago, where I had to pretty much fend for myself.

What an awesome guide.  Thank you so much for posting it.  I have a very good friend who was married to US Citizen and lived in Panama with him for 5 years.  He passe away 10 months ago and she now wants to come live in the USA with her friends and family.  She has not remarried and has all the appropriate legal documentation of their marriage.  She is having difficulty finding an attorney on her end that has knowledge of this process.  She lives in Medellin now as she is a Citizen of Colombia.  What are your thoughts of proceeding without legal guidance? 

Many thanks

[Ryan H 3,812]

**Post split into separate thread.**

[kevdman 5]

12 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

**Post split into separate thread.**

Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean please?

[Villanelle 4,122]

34 minutes ago, kevdman said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean please?

It just means the mods separated your post from the thread you posted in and made it its own thread. Its just to keep the forums neat and organized.

 

Im sure @Hypnos will be by to answer you soon. Visajourney is a DIY help website. Most processes do not need an attny. Is there a special reason she feels she needs an attny and can not do this herself using the guides on here? 

[kevdman 5]

4 minutes ago, Damara said:

It just means the mods separated your post from the thread you posted in and made it its own thread. Its just to keep the forums neat and organized.

 

Im sure @Hypnos will be by to answer you soon. Visajourney is a DIY help website. Most processes do not need an attny. Is there a special reason she feels she needs an attny and can not do this herself using the guides on here? 

I love VJ!!!!  We completed my ex's immigration tasks without issues.  We broke up sadly, but that had nothing to do with all of the immigration stuff. We could not have completed the process without VJ.  I tell everyone I know who require immigration information about this site.

As far as my friend's issue, I think she may need an attorney because she has spoken with several in Medellin already and they do not seem to be aware of the I-360 Widow(er) process.  She has not lived or visited the USA and does not hold a visa.  I thought it best she seek competent legal advice to proceed.  If she discovers it as straightforward as it seems to be in the guide, I may just assist her myself, but I would hate to mess things up for her.

Thanks much

K

[Hypnos 6,576]

My guide for widows and widowers can be found here: https://www.visajourney.com/content/immigrate-to-america-widow-er-of-us-citizen. It is aimed more at adjustment of status, but you can ignore any references to AoS and I-485 documents and just solely look at the I-360 part. 

 

If your friends meets the listed qualifications then she can file for an immigrant visa. The first step would be filing an I-360 with the US embassy having jurisdiction over her place of residence, or directly with a USCIS field office in another country that also has jurisdiction over your country. 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Hypnos

[kevdman 5]

7 hours ago, Hypnos said:

My guide for widows and widowers can be found here: https://www.visajourney.com/content/immigrate-to-america-widow-er-of-us-citizen. It is aimed more at adjustment of status, but you can ignore any references to AoS and I-485 documents and just solely look at the I-360 part. 

 

If your friends meets the listed qualifications then she can file for an immigrant visa. The first step would be filing an I-360 with the US embassy having jurisdiction over her place of residence, or directly with a USCIS field office in another country that also has jurisdiction over your country. 

Thank you kindly Hypnos for the info.  So she only needs to file the I-360, I-864W and the G-325A at this time?  As she is not stateside yet, does she need to complete the I-693?

Again, many thanks.

[Hypnos 6,576]

She would begin by filing the I-360 alone for now. At her subsequent interview she would then submit the I-864W. The I-693 isn't necessary since that's for AoS only, but she will have to have a medical examination performed through whatever physician(s) the embassy uses.

 

So she needs to complete an I-360, and its supporting documents, available at http://www.uscis.gov/i-360 and then submit it to the US embassy in Bogota, Colombia. I will give you fair warning now that it might be a pain getting the embassy to accept it, because widow/er provisions in US law are very niche and even embassy officials are often unfamiliar with them. But if you look at the filing chart that denotes where to file I-360 applications you will clearly see that the filing location for I-360s for widow/ers who aren't also filing an I-485 and are outside the US is stated as "If you live outside the U.S. and are self-petitioning, you may file Form I-360 at the USCIS office in the country where you currently live. If you do not currently live in a country where USCIS has an office [note: there is no USCIS field office in Colombia], you may file your Form I-360 at the U.S. Embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over the area where you live." So this means the I-360 needs to filed directly with the embassy itself.

 

I have seen multiple posts from people saying the embassy told them to "file with USCIS", and refused to take their I-360. In some cases it took extensive badgering and printouts of the filing location chart I linked above to finally cajole them into accepting the form. Maybe your friend will get lucky and they won't give her this hassle, I'm just letting you know it could occur.

 

So have her complete an I-360 and then contact the immigrant visa section at the US embassy in Bogota and ask for instructions on how they wish her to submit the I-360. They may require her to come in person or they might take it through the mail; it varies from embassy to embassy. If they give her any silliness, send them a copy of the filing chart I linked that indicates she needs to file directly with the embassy.

 

Good luck.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Hypnos

[kevdman 5]

Again, thanks so much for your advice.  We will keep you informed of the process.