Husband passed away. Not sure what to do next!

[TomEn 90]

3 minutes ago, Going through said:

Send a letter to the field office adjudicating your case that you are withdrawing your N400.  include a copy of the N400 receipt.  You do not need to explain why, if you do not wish to.

 

Your i-751 will still process, however you will need to inform USCIS of your husband's death by requesting a waiver in writing (this will remove the "joint" part of your petition).  Include a copy of the i-751 receipt with your letter.  USCIS may or may not RFE you for a copy of the death certificate.

Is there a place where i can find examples of such letters? I dont want to write something and end up messing things up!

[Going through 5,671]

8 minutes ago, TomEn said:

Is there a place where i can find examples of such letters? I dont want to write something and end up messing things up!

It's not very complicated.  For the N400 you just have to write something like "I am withdrawing my application for Naturalization at this time, as I am no longer eligible under the 3-year filing rule." (if you want you can add "due to the death of my USC spouse".)

 

For the i-751, you can state something along the lines of "I am requesting a waiver of the joint-filing portion of my i-751, due to the death of my USC spouse (name) on ________ (date). "

 

Include copies of both receipt notices with your letter(s) so that they have your contact info and A#.  

You will likely be called for an interview for your i-751 due to the waiver request, whereupon you'll be asked to provide documentation supporting the bonafide marriage, as well as the death certificate (if they don't RFE you for the certificate beforehand).

 

You can also make an infopass appointment and hand-deliver the letters to the agent.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Going through

[TomEn 90]

1 minute ago, Going through said:

It's not very complicated.  For the N400 you just have to write something like "I am withdrawing my application for Naturalization at this time, as I am no longer eligible under the 3-year filing rule." (if you want you can add "due to the death of my USC spouse".)

 

For the i-751, you can state something along the lines of "I am requesting a waiver of the joint-filing portion of my i-751, due to the death of my USC spouse (name) on ________ (date). "

 

Include copies of both receipt notices with your letter(s) so that they have your contact info and A#.  

You will likely be called for an interview for your i-751 due to the waiver request, whereupon you'll be asked to provide documentation supporting the bonafide marriage, as well as the death certificate.

 

You can also make an infopass appointment and hand-deliver the letters to the agent.

Thank you so much. I shall start working on them now. Just need to wait for the DC if they need copies of it!

[TomEn 90]

2 minutes ago, LizM said:

I am terribly sorry for your loss. You don't need to apologize to anyone for wanting to stay occupied right now, honestly that's all I'd want to do if I were in your situation. Everyone grieves in different ways and that's ok. You've gotten some great advice already so I just wanted to wish you all the best. Stay close to other family members and friends because you're not alone.

@LizM thank you for your kind words. I do try to make myself busy but it apparently doesnt want to work that way. Friends are always busy and family is back in India. So need to keep myself busy so i dont crash and burn! 

THere are so many things that we wanted to do togther and guess I'd start doing them one at a time in honor of his memory!

 

Thanks again for you kind and understanding words.

[Hypnos 6,576]

I am sorry for your loss.

 

Everyone else has already given you the correct advice.

 

I will only add that I became a US citizen a couple of weeks ago through being the widower of a US citizen (that was the basis upon which I obtained my green card) and had to file under the five year rule, as you have already been advised. Widows and widowers are not eligible to file under the three year rule, unless in some circumstances where their US citizen spouse was in the military and died during active service.

[CEE53147 559]

My condolences on your loss.

 

Please arrange to speak with a grief counselor.  There are many who can refer you to a qualified person including your physician and the social worker where your husband passed away. There are also support groups for people in your situation; they are often sponsored by hospitals and religious organization. Please do this as I am sure he would not want you to be going through this alone.

[TomEn 90]

24 minutes ago, Hypnos said:

I am sorry for your loss.

 

Everyone else has already given you the correct advice.

 

I will only add that I became a US citizen a couple of weeks ago through being the widower of a US citizen (that was the basis upon which I obtained my green card) and had to file under the five year rule, as you have already been advised. Widows and widowers are not eligible to file under the three year rule, unless in some circumstances where their US citizen spouse was in the military and died during active service.

THank you @Hypnos

 

I shall work on withdrawing the application.

[TomEn 90]

3 minutes ago, CEE53147 said:

My condolences on your loss.

 

Please arrange to speak with a grief counselor.  There are many who can refer you to a qualified person including your physician and the social worker where your husband passed away. There are also support groups for people in your situation; they are often sponsored by hospitals and religious organization. Please do this as I am sure he would not want you to be going through this alone.

Dear @CEE53147 thank you for such kind words. I have starte working with a counsellor who has also lost her husband two years ago and hopefully it will help. I am not ready for group sessions since I am not able to be in a room of more than 4 people at a time. I believe in time, i shall be able to do that. Thank you again for reaching out.

[CEE53147 559]

2 hours ago, TomEn said:

Dear @CEE53147 thank you for such kind words. I have starte working with a counsellor who has also lost her husband two years ago and hopefully it will help. I am not ready for group sessions since I am not able to be in a room of more than 4 people at a time. I believe in time, i shall be able to do that. Thank you again for reaching out.

 

You are welcome. VJ members are sending you a huge {{{{hug}}}}

[nastra30 2,287]

I don't have anything to add since you've already received some better advice already.

I just want to extend my condolences; stay strong.

[TomEn 90]

2 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

I don't have anything to add since you've already received some better advice already.

I just want to extend my condolences; stay strong.

@nastra30 thank you nastra. Just need to bilud the courage now to do things my own!

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Take it a day at a time and a step at a time, and you'll make it through this.

I recommend ordering multiple copies of the death certificate, just to be safe.

Good that you're seeing the counselor.

If you're still in Sugar Land, good; you can distract yourself in many positive ways.

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Additional thought:

Until the death certificates arrive, you might be able to supply (for various purposes) copies of a newspaper obituary, program from the church service from when the memorial was held, or paperwork from the funeral home.

 

Something like the above might be good interim material to send to USCIS, and to provide to banks or investment accounts in the meantime.  Most places will eventually require a death certificate for formal transactions, but you never know.

[milimelo 4,486]

Make sure to order plenty of death certificate copies - around 15/20 as different places will each want one - life insurance, bank(s), creditors... 

[TBoneTX 45,329]

1 hour ago, TBoneTX said:

I recommend ordering multiple copies of the death certificate, just to be safe.

 

26 minutes ago, milimelo said:

order plenty of death certificate copies - around 15/20

That's a good number.