Removing condition

[norishing2007 2]

Hello vjiers members good evening to you all I need your advised on what to do concerning removing condition of my status I got married to an American citizen since November 12 2014 I went for my interview in Nigeria on march 24 2016 after my interview unfortunately my wife died of ovarian cancer on April 14 on June 7 2016 I got my visa I intended not to travel to united states again because the reason why I am traveling has passed away but the family members told me that they need me here for the burial ceremony and for me to pay my last respect to my wife before she will be buried so currently I am staying with family they are taking good care of me I have gotten a joy and I have also gotten my green card with my social security card so my question is this should I start removing the conditional on my status because I came under cr1 immigrants visa or should I have to wait till the 90 days prior to the end of my conditional to be remove thanks so much your contribution will be highly accepted

[EM_Vandaveer 2,370]

This is a complicated situation. Entering on a spousal visa after your spouse's death may be perceived as fraud. As a widow/widower of a USC you could have obtained an immigrant visa but it seems to me that maybe the correct procedure would have been to contact your consulate so they can cancel the spousal visa THEN apply for an immigrant visa as a widow/widower.

ROC could have been filed for as soon as you had the death certificate, so waiting all this time also might not look good in the eyes of USCIS?

I am very sorry for your loss. Good luck on your ROC process.

[jabumere 2]

I am so sorry for your loss. I think that you were obligated to come to the U.S on the visa that you were approved for. There was nothing false or any type of deception on your behalf. Besides if you desired to come to pay your last respects to your wife who knows if the other visa would have been granted on time. I know that the consulate is strict but I don't think that they will fault you for this. I would advise you to make some phone calls to try and find out how to proceed.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,370]

~ Moved from "ROC General Discussion" to "Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits" where similar topics are discussed ~

[MeAlone 158]

go online to your local USCIS office and ask for Infopass, go to ask them how to fix it, you are entitled to a permanent green card as a US citizen widow, better try to fix it being in US, the embassy abroad could be not so willing to do it or not so fast, you didn't do anything wrong, you were approved before she passed, sorry for your loss, be well.

Or I would apply for condition removal right away being in US saying she passed.

Tasha

[EM_Vandaveer 2,370]

OP should definitely file ROC ASAP. I'm not sure how it will play out. I think OP received the spousal visa AFTER his wife passed away. That should not have happened.

"wife died of ovarian cancer on April 14 on June 7 2016 I got my visa"

Edited November 30, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[Villanelle 4,121]

What happens if the petitioner dies before the principal beneficiary has immigrated to the United States?

If the petitioner dies before the principal beneficiary has immigrated to the U.S., the petition is automatically revoked pursuant to 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3). This means that the consular officer will not be able to issue a visa to any of the beneficiaries of the petition and will be required to return the petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

He needs an attny.

[MeAlone 158]

OP should definitely file ROC ASAP. I'm not sure how it will play out. I think OP received the spousal visa AFTER his wife passed away. That should not have happened.

"wife died of ovarian cancer on April 14 on June 7 2016 I got my visa"

Ooops, I didn't notice this part. How did he pass the visa interview in the embassy with his wife already dead?

But we have this:

Widow(er) With Pending or Approved Immigrant Petition

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 Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. If you have children (unmarried and under age 21), they may be included on the Form I-360 regardless of whether your deceased spouse had filed a petition for them.

To qualify, you must not have have been divorced or legally separated from the U.S. citizen at the time of death. Your eligibility to immigrate as a widow(er) ends if you have remarried.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-family/green-card-through-special-categories-family/widower#with%20pending

It looks he could get visa anyway but he needed to tell to the embassy, his wife passed away

Tasha

[MeAlone 158]

maybe he still have a chance to fix it in US, info pass and ask.

Good Luck!

Tasha

[MeAlone 158]

Hello vjiers members good evening to you all I need your advised on what to do concerning removing condition of my status I got married to an American citizen since November 12 2014 I went for my interview in Nigeria on march 24 2016 after my interview unfortunately my wife died of ovarian cancer on April 14 on June 7 2016 I got my visa I intended not to travel to united states again because the reason why I am traveling has passed away but the family members told me that they need me here for the burial ceremony and for me to pay my last respect to my wife before she will be buried so currently I am staying with family they are taking good care of me I have gotten a joy and I have also gotten my green card with my social security card so my question is this should I start removing the conditional on my status because I came under cr1 immigrants visa or should I have to wait till the 90 days prior to the end of my conditional to be remove thanks so much your contribution will be highly accepted

read well the USCIS page I put the link above and follow the instructions to file when in US and apply.

Tasha

[Villanelle 4,121]

You guys are not looking at the whole big picture... He went to the interview- so what. The interview date means nothing. Its just part of the visa process. The date of your interview means nothing in terms of approval or date benefits were extended to him... If you want to get picky- I suspect he did not discuss with them in the interview the fact that his wife was gravely ill.. I could be wrong, but I suspect it may not have come up. People dont usually die suddenly from ovarian cancer; or any form of cancer to be honest. Cancer is a slow killer with many symptoms. I doubt he went to an interview on March 24th and had no idea she had cancer and she passed less then 3 weeks later from it on April 14th... Whether he discussed this with the Officer at the interview or not? I dont know. It doesnt matter at this point. Perhaps if he did they would have advised him better on what to do and what not to do- but at this point it doesnt matter....

The only date that matters to USCIS is the date his visa was actually issued which is June 7th. This is AFTER his wife was deceased and he was NOT entitled to a visa on that date. He did not notify them of the change in circumstance and it was his responsibility to do so. The USCIS/embassy does not monitor every USC to make sure there is no change in circumstances like a death that automatically converts 130s to the 360... The wording can be confusing- but technically the 130 for the CR visa gets revoked (or canceled or rejected or whatever you want to call it) at the embassy level and then sent back to USCIS who does whatever paperwork adjusting they do to it and reset by them into a 360 widow form.

The issue here is that he actually used the visa to travel to the US.

If you read the FAQ which I posted above which was taken from the embassy website it clearly states that the underlying 130 petition is REVOKED when the petitioner dies making your visa invalid.

He USED the visa to travel to the US. This is a BIG issue. He traveled on a visa that he was not entitled to. So while there is another visa that he is entitled to, one can not simply say- well thats okay we will just adjust it... There are ramifications for doing what he did. It is similar to someone entering on the K visa when they are married. The USCIS does not simply take the approach of - oh you used the wrong visa? psh thats ok, we all make mistakes.. No. Its called visa fraud. They have a dim view of it. He needs an attny to sort out this mess.

Intentional or not, he entered on a visa he was not entitled to, that should have been revoked. He needs to speak with a lawyer. In my opinion he should NOT go to USCIS infopass or attempt to file for ROC. He should speak to an attny and find out how to proceed. He does want to and does NEED to alert USCIS to his error, but he does not want to put himself into a pot of hot water with out having assistance and a clear idea of how to solve the issue. USCIS infopass is not designed to provide assistance to people on how to fix errors or provide legal advice.

[norishing2007 2]

Thanks so much for all your contribution vj members let me clear myself to you guys I went to interview on 24 th march and I told the consular that my wife is having ovarian cancer and the sickness started after we got married on 12 Nov 2014 that was when she came to Nigeria on September 2015 she succeeded from surgery after the surgery she was discharged from the hospital in Indiana and her family member took her to Wisconsin she was with her family after my interview and I told her how the interview went we all were very happy suddenly on April 4 she went back to the hospital and from there she went into coma and passed away so I told the consular about her illness thanks

[norishing2007 2]

Ooops, I didn't notice this part. How did he pass the visa interview in the embassy with his wife already dead?

But we have this:

Widow(er) With Pending or Approved Immigrant Petition

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 Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. If you have children (unmarried and under age 21), they may be included on the Form I-360 regardless of whether your deceased spouse had filed a petition for them.

To qualify, you must not have have been divorced or legally separated from the U.S. citizen at the time of death. Your eligibility to immigrate as a widow(er) ends if you have remarried.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-family/green-card-through-special-categories-family/widower#with%20pending

It looks he could get visa anyway but he needed to tell to the embassy, his wife passed away

Tasha

[MeAlone 158]

I do think you can fix your permanent green card as a widower of USC. Try to do t being in US, it's more easy here, maybe it takes more time, maybe you need to get a lawyer, I am not sure about that, lawyers here are not good, more delaying than helping, but try, Good Luck!

and my sincere condolences

Tasha

I did explain to my fiance what to do if I am passed away, I am older than him and this year I almost did, it's always good to know for a foreigner what to do in case of it, I also try to explain to him about all his rights and how the law works here

Edited December 1, 2016 by EricTasha

[Villanelle 4,121]

Thanks so much for all your contribution vj members let me clear myself to you guys I went to interview on 24 th march and I told the consular that my wife is having ovarian cancer and the sickness started after we got married on 12 Nov 2014 that was when she came to Nigeria on September 2015 she succeeded from surgery after the surgery she was discharged from the hospital in Indiana and her family member took her to Wisconsin she was with her family after my interview and I told her how the interview went we all were very happy suddenly on April 4 she went back to the hospital and from there she went into coma and passed away so I told the consular about her illness thanks

Norishing- I do understand what happened... This is a very hard situation... I just want to be clear- while some here are saying dont worry you didnt do anything wrong- the facts are you did do something wrong. It wasnt intentional. It wasnt deceitful. It wasnt because you are a bad person and were trying to defraud the government. But in the eyes of the law there is no difference. They dont care what your reasons are. If a mistake is made and a law is broken then to them the law is broken. You have to fix it. There will be more options available to you to fix things because of your situation and how things played out. This is why you need an attny. Because you did not intentionally do anything and you have other paths to a visa/greencard. So its going to be a lot of paperwork to undo this mess.

Again I do not recommend you attempt to tackle this paperwork alone, nor expect USCIS to guide you on what paperwork you need- they simply do not do that. If you advise them of what you did incorrectly they will simply start proceedings on their end to fix their error from their side. They dont care about your side or what you need to do to fix your status. They dont give legal advice or any advice on how to respond to their actions.

My statement above about maybe if they knew in the interview that she was gravely ill was because if they did know that- then perhaps they would have or should have advised you that if she did unfortunately pass before you were able to travel to the US that you would not be able to travel to the US on the visa anymore. This advance knowledge would have prevented you from getting into this mess in the first place... it would have also prevented you from grieving with your extended family as well though which would have been unfortunate, but thats how the process is.