US Lists 6 Conditions Widows and Widowers of American Citizens Must Meet to Get Green Card

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services outlined specific eligibility conditions for surviving spouses of American citizens seeking a Green Card
• Applicants must satisfy all six conditions at the same time, meaning a single unmet requirement disqualifies the entire application
• Remarriage and legal separation from the deceased US citizen spouse are among the factors that can end a widow or widower's eligibility

The United States government has outlined a strict set of requirements that widows and widowers of American citizens must fulfil before they can obtain a Green Card, also known as lawful permanent residency.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), surviving spouses may be eligible to apply, but only if they satisfy every condition on the list at the same time.

Falling short on even one requirement is enough to disqualify an application entirely.

Marital conditions that determine eligibility

The USCIS specifies that the applicant must have been legally married to a US citizen at the moment that citizen died, and the marriage must have been entered into genuinely, not as a strategy to gain immigration benefits. Couples who were divorced or legally separated before the American spouse passed away are not eligible.

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Remarriage is also a disqualifying factor. Once a surviving spouse enters a new marriage, this particular route to a Green Card is no longer available to them, unless they qualify under a specific provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The full list of US' requirements

Beyond the marital criteria, applicants must hold 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.

Where the American spouse died before 28 October 2009 and the couple had been married for less than two years, a separate deadline of no later than 28 October 2011 applies.

The USCIS lists the following six conditions, all of which must be met simultaneously:

1. The applicant was married to a US citizen at the time that citizen passed away
2. An approved Form I-360 exists, either converted from a Form I-130 or filed within the required timeframe
3. The applicant has not remarried
4. The applicant was not divorced or legally separated from the US citizen spouse at the time of death
5. The applicant can demonstrate the marriage was genuine and conducted in good faith
6. The applicant is admissible to the United States

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Admissibility is a separate legal standard under US immigration law and can be affected by a person's criminal record, health status, or prior immigration violations.

Meeting the first five conditions does not guarantee approval if an admissibility issue exists.

US lists conditions for foreign relatives to get Green Card

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services outlined nine specific conditions that immediate relatives of American citizens must satisfy to obtain a Green Card.

USCIS confirmed that only three categories of people qualify as immediate relatives under this pathway, including spouses and parents of US citizens.

The conditions apply specifically to foreign relatives already inside the United States who wish to adjust their status without leaving the country.

Source: YEN.com.gh