Widower of US Citizen

[Yonson 0]

Hi all, new here. I hope you are all well and safe

 

My US Citizen wife recently passed away. We have been legally married for over 3 years but always resided in the UK since marriage.

 

We had longer term plans of possibly moving to the US but had not filed anything at the time of her death.

 

I am a UK Citizen, 34 years old, with no criminal convictions. 

 

Is it possible that I apply for a green card as the widower of a US Citizen?

[Unlockable 7,314]

Where are you located and where was your wife living/located? If it was not in the US the, not likely to qualify for a GC. GC are for family reunification. If you two were already together in another country then you would not have much of a case.

[Yonson 0]

Thanks Unlockable

 

I am in the UK and we were living together in the UK at the time of her death.

 

I saw this info about Widowers. Does this not apply to me?

 

Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens

Widows and widowers of U.S. citizens may use Form I-360 to petition for a green card, on condition that they were not legally separated or divorced from the citizen at the time of his or her death, have not remarried, and that they file the petition within two years of the citizen's death.

[user555 196]

Either have a pending or approved Form I-130 or you have filed a Form I-360 within 2 years of your spouse’s death.

https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoptions/green_card_widow

If you haven't already done the I130, it looks like a no.

You could file the I360 if her death was in the past 2 years. 

[Yonson 0]

Thank you user555

 

She sadly passed away this year , so less than 2 years ago.

 

I'm a little confused as to what the likelihood of me being approved since we never lived in the US together however we were legally married and the I360 seems to suggest I can apply through that route?

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

I'm sorry for your loss. I wanted to point out a green card is for residency in the United States and not something you would use to go back and forth. You always would be responsible for completing taxes and reporting worldwide income. You will also lose your health benefits in the UK. These are significant things that you need to think about before you figure out if you would qualify. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

2 hours ago, Yonson said:

Hi all, new here. I hope you are all well and safe

 

My US Citizen wife recently passed away. We have been legally married for over 3 years but always resided in the UK since marriage.

 

We had longer term plans of possibly moving to the US but had not filed anything at the time of her death.

 

I am a UK Citizen, 34 years old, with no criminal convictions. 

 

Is it possible that I apply for a green card as the widower of a US Citizen?

You can self petition for an immigrant Visa to the US with the two years following her death.  File the I-360.

[portorusa 431]

Interestingly, there is no similar chance for a vice versa situation...If one spouse is a UK citizen, the other US citizen, and as a married couple they lived in the US where the UK citizen dies.

Edited May 12, 2020 by portorusa

[Yonson 0]

7 minutes ago, portorusa said:

Interestingly, there is no similar chance for a vice versa situation...If one spouse is a UK citizen, the other US citizen, and as a married couple they lived in the US where the UK citizen dies.

You would think they would make it so the same applies between the two countries. It's the inconsistencies that can be frustrating especially between two very friendly nations.   

[pushbrk 12,870]

1 hour ago, Yonson said:

You would think they would make it so the same applies between the two countries. It's the inconsistencies that can be frustrating especially between two very friendly nations.   

The US allows this no matter which country the foreign spouse would be.  Other countries do their own thing when it comes to immigration.  Visitor privileges tend to be based on a certain amount of reciprocity when it comes to duration of visa validity and duration of stay, but not particularly reciprocal with regard to requirements for issuing the visas.

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, Yonson said:

You would think they would make it so the same applies between the two countries. It's the inconsistencies that can be frustrating especially between two very friendly nations.   

Immigrant visa requirements do not have reciprocity, and there are not exceptions made for friendly countries. The same standard and requirements apply to all countries. The INA does not allow for that form of discrimination (not using the word in a negative tone here...just one literal meaning: "recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another.").

Although, the implementation can certainly create practical barriers, such as long wait times for background checks, public charge concerns, documentation requirements, etc.

[JFH 12,190]

This is very sad when someone so young dies. Do you have any children together? 
 

When you get to the US do you have a good support network? Although you will have immediate work authorization, the practicalities of getting a job may be complicated. Even a year from now (the visa will take around a year to be approved), the economy has taken such a hammering and there are so many people unemployed that it likely will take some years for the job market to recover. There is no safety net for such situations unless you are a USC so a good support network or significant cash reserves would be necessary. 

[Hypnos 6,576]

I am sorry for your loss.

 

As stated, you qualify to receive an IW-6 immigrant visa through your wife.

 

I received my green card through being the widower of a US citizen. I also wrote VisaJourney's AoS for widow/er guide on the subject. It's not really aimed at the immigrant visa route, though it's a similar process, just done from overseas.

 

Feel free to PM if you feel the need. This isn't a route that many people have gone through.

[El Escocés 217]

I have nothing to contribute to this thread other than to pass my condolences to you at this difficult time. 

[Hypnos 6,576]

And I meant to say IW-1 immigrant visa. IW-6 would be for AoS.