Widows or widowers who were married to U.S. citizens at the time of the citizen’s death may apply for a green card. To immigrate as the widow(er) of a citizen, you must prove that you were legally married to the citizen, and that you entered the marriage in good faith, and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit. To qualify, you must not have been divorced or legally separated from the U.S. citizen at the time of death and/or you cannot be remarried.

• If you were married to a U.S. citizen who had filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for you before he or she died, you do not need to file anything. The Form I-130 will be automatically converted to a Widow(er)’s petition upon you notifying USCIS of your spouse’s death.
• If you were married to U.S. citizen before the citizen’s death, but s/he did not file an I-130 petition on your behalf, you can self-petition as an “immediate relative” on Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. If your citizen spouse did not have a Form I-130 pending at the time of death, you must file the Form I-360 no more than two (2) years after the death of your citizen spouse.

If you are concerned about your residential status after the passing of your spouse, contact Hope Immigration today at (678) 713-4255 to schedule a consultation with our knowledgeable immigration lawyers in Marietta.