Husband Died

[shawie 0]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm trying to help a friend in the Philippines. I thought it might be easier to post it in here for some input. 

 

Her husband died a month ago here in the US (heart attack). They have 2 kids (10 and 6). Her sis-in-law is helping her out financially right now. She's torn between getting a tourist visa or go through the process of her sis-in-law sponsoring her and the kids to come here in the US. She and the kids have not been here in the US before. Her kids are US citizens so they're entitled to be here. But what about her? What would be the best route for her and the kids to come here quick to process the pension/will if there's any?

 

Thank you so much for your help.

[aaron2020 11,651]

As the widow of a US citizen, she has a 2 years window to self petition for a green card.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-360

 

[JeanneAdil 6,201]

she is also eligible for SS benefits for the 2 kids 

this would help with monies

 

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf

 

if he was already collecting himself as retired ,  she is also eligible but he would have to be retired to collect full benefits

she is entiled to $255 

Edited June 4, 2021 by JeanneAdil

[SalishSea 16,772]

1 hour ago, shawie said:

Hello everyone,

 

I'm trying to help a friend in the Philippines. I thought it might be easier to post it in here for some input. 

 

Her husband died a month ago here in the US (heart attack). They have 2 kids (10 and 6). Her sis-in-law is helping her out financially right now. She's torn between getting a tourist visa or go through the process of her sis-in-law sponsoring her and the kids to come here in the US. She and the kids have not been here in the US before. Her kids are US citizens so they're entitled to be here. But what about her? What would be the best route for her and the kids to come here quick to process the pension/will if there's any?

 

Thank you so much for your help.

She cannot come on a tourist visa with the intent to stay.   That is illegal, even if her kids are USCs.

[Chancy 6,233]

4 hours ago, shawie said:

She and the kids have not been here in the US before. Her kids are US citizens

 

Just checking -- do the kids have US passports?

 

4 hours ago, shawie said:

What would be the best route for her and the kids to come here quick to process the pension/will if there's any?

 

If her intent is just to process the pension/will then return to the Philippines, applying for a tourist visa is fine.  To have a good chance of success, she needs to have strong ties in the PH that can be documented in the visa application form.  But if she relies on her sister-in-law for financial support, it's unlikely she can present enough ties to the PH, so getting a tourist visa would be unlikely.

 

If her intent is to live in the US, a tourist visa would not be appropriate.  She should start the IW immigrant visa process by filing an I-360 petition for herself.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Chancy
clarification

[top_secret 2,062]

There is also the issue that US Embassy Manila is not doing interviews for Tourist Visa applicants at this time, and there seems to be little prospect of them resuming anytime soon.  I don't think a Tourist Visa is likely to be a viable option for quite a while.

[JeanneAdil 6,201]

she does need to continue for a spouse visa to come and claim the benefits as she can not apply online 

and this is worth continuing with the process for widow

 

If a child receives survivors benefits, they can get up to 75 percent of the deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit. There is a limit, however, to the amount of money that we can pay to a family. The family maximum payment is determined as part of every Social Security benefit computation. It can be from 150 to 180 percent of the parent’s full benefit amount. I

 

[payxibka 10,044]

16 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

she does need to continue for a spouse visa to come and claim the benefits as she can not apply online 

and this is worth continuing with the process for widow

 

If a child receives survivors benefits, they can get up to 75 percent of the deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit. There is a limit, however, to the amount of money that we can pay to a family. The family maximum payment is determined as part of every Social Security benefit computation. It can be from 150 to 180 percent of the parent’s full benefit amount. I

 

Manila has an SSA office

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

On 6/4/2021 at 1:40 PM, shawie said:

Hello everyone,

 

I'm trying to help a friend in the Philippines. I thought it might be easier to post it in here for some input. 

 

Her husband died a month ago here in the US (heart attack). They have 2 kids (10 and 6). Her sis-in-law is helping her out financially right now. She's torn between getting a tourist visa or go through the process of her sis-in-law sponsoring her and the kids to come here in the US. She and the kids have not been here in the US before. Her kids are US citizens so they're entitled to be here. But what about her? What would be the best route for her and the kids to come here quick to process the pension/will if there's any?

 

Thank you so much for your help.

Does she only want to come to the US to get the pension? Or does she want to live in the US? I presume the money will go a lot further in the Philippines than in the US. Tourist vs immigrant visa depends on where she actually wants to live.

[shawie 0]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:04 PM, aaron2020 said:

As the widow of a US citizen, she has a 2 years window to self petition for a green card.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-360

 

Thank you so much! this is very helpful!

[DitDit-Terry 0]

The best is for her kids to petition her.

8 CFR 319.1(b)(2)(i)

 

"A person is ineligible for naturalization as the spouse of a United States citizen under Section 319(a) of the Act if, before or after the filing of the application, the marital union ceases to exist due to death or divorce, or the citizen spouse has expatriated."

[Chancy 6,233]

12 minutes ago, DitDit-Terry said:

The best is for her kids to petition her.

 

No, that's not an option for now as her kids are below 21 years old --

 

On 6/5/2021 at 4:40 AM, shawie said:

They have 2 kids (10 and 6)

 

[nastra30 1,984]

1 hour ago, DitDit-Terry said:

The best is for her kids to petition her. - No, the best option right now is to self-petition with I-360, if her intention is to migrate to the US.

 

"A person is ineligible for naturalization as the spouse of a United States citizen under Section 319(a) of the Act if, before or after the filing of the application, the marital union ceases to exist due to death or divorce, or the citizen spouse has expatriated." -  I'm not sure why you have this quote here but based on Op's original post her friend is trying to come to US, and nothing mentioned about naturalization.

 

[DitDit-Terry 0]

With only what the OP posted. She needs to start NOW.

Look over the USCIS web site for her current status.

IF things were already in motion, USCIS will automatically switch it for her.

Also, DO NOT REMARRY!