The United States government has published six specific conditions that foreign widows and widowers of American citizens must satisfy before they can be granted lawful permanent residency, commonly known as a Green Card. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, surviving spouses who were legally married to a US citizen at the time of the citizen's death are potentially eligible to apply, but they must meet all six criteria simultaneously for their application to be approved.
Key Requirements for Widow or Widower Green Card Applicants
The USCIS requires that an applicant was legally married to a US citizen when that citizen died, and that the marriage was entered into in good faith rather than as a means of securing immigration benefits. Couples who were divorced or legally separated before the American spouse passed away are automatically disqualified from this pathway.
Remarriage is another disqualifying factor. Once a widow or widower remarries, eligibility for this particular Green Card pathway ends, unless they qualify under a specific provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This means that surviving spouses must remain unmarried to pursue permanent residency through this route.
Filing Deadlines and Form Requirements
Beyond the marital conditions, applicants must have an approved Form I-360, the Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. This form must either have been automatically converted from a previously filed Form I-130, or submitted within two years of the US citizen spouse's death. A separate deadline of no later than 28 October 2011 applies in cases where the American spouse died before 28 October 2009 and the couple had been married for less than two years at the time.
The USCIS lists six conditions that must all be met for a widow or widower to qualify. These include being married to the US citizen at the time of death, having an approved Form I-360, not having remarried, not being divorced or legally separated at the time of death, demonstrating that the marriage was genuine and conducted in good faith, and being admissible to the United States.
Admissibility and Legal Standards
Admissibility is a separate legal standard under US immigration law and can be affected by a person's criminal record, health status, or previous immigration violations. This means that even if all other conditions are met, an applicant may still be denied a Green Card if they are deemed inadmissible on these grounds.
The US government has emphasized that meeting a single condition is not enough; applicants must satisfy all criteria simultaneously before their application can be approved. This comprehensive set of requirements aims to ensure that the Green Card pathway for widows and widowers is used only by those with genuine marriages and legitimate claims to permanent residency.
