Nordica

I'm assembling my package for CSC right now and will join you all next week.

I interpret it as you do ('in accordance' but not 'under'). This is why I could never be a lawyer though. That hurts my bwain!!

Oh, neither could I! It's bad enough trying to comprehend that stuff...

Thanks so much, Tracy! With your help, I finally found the legal wording:

If the joint petition cannot be filed due to the termination of the marriage through annulment, divorce, or the death of the petitioning spouse, or if the petitioning spouse refuses to join in the filing of the petition, the conditional permanent resident may apply for a waiver of the requirement to file the joint petition in accordance with the provisions of §216.5 of this part.

But then going to 216.5, that law states that it applies only to cases where "the marriage was terminated other than by death". Hmm. So you file "in accordance" to the waiver law, but not actually "under" the waiver law?

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'll try to help as best I can.

1.) I do remember it being part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (aka INA). This may also help: http://law.justia.co...2.20.0.1.5.html

As you've probably figured out, Part 2 of the form is essentially where you 'claim' the waiver, and of course you would check box C to indicate that your spouse passed away. Just mention in your cover letter that you are applying with a waiver since the USC has died.

2.) Personally I think this one is do-able on your own. But as always, if you'd feel more comfortable having an immigration attorney give it the once over, that's not a bad idea.

3.) I'm actually not sure on this one, but I would presume so. See if others here are smarter about this than me (quite likely!) or if you do speak to an attorney, run it by them too.

4.) I think that looks great, though check the guide on VJ for removing conditions - there may be something they list there that you realize you have and could use, too. Utility bills spring to mind, though you may not have some of those in both names.

*edited for typo*

Thank you so much for your suggestions, Tracy. I did find legal language about the waiver on that website searching for the word "death" - do you think I should cite section (ii)?

§ 216.5 Waiver of requirement to file joint petition to remove conditions by alien spouse.

(a) General. (1) A conditional resident alien who is unable to meet the requirements under section 216 of the Act for a joint petition for removal of the conditional basis of his or her permanent resident status may file Form I–751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence, if the alien requests a waiver, was not at fault in failing to meet the filing requirement, and the conditional resident alien is able to establish that:

(i) Deportation or removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship;

(ii) The marriage upon which his or her status was based was entered into in good faith by the conditional resident alien, but the marriage was terminated other than by death, and the conditional resident was not at fault in failing to file a timely petition; or

(iii) The qualifying marriage was entered into in good faith by the conditional resident but during the marriage the alien spouse or child was battered by or subjected to extreme cruelty committed by the citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent.

Sorry for your loss.

For I-751 - try searching USCIS website for memo on widows. I don't think you need a lawyer as you have plenty of evidence.

Let us know how it goes.

Edited to add: there was a member on this forum recently who went through ROC successfully - also lost a spouse.

Thank you for your message and the encouragement, milimelo. (On the USCIS site, I keep finding the law about ROC with the wording "except in death-related cases".)

Hello all,

In a few weeks, I'm planning to file for removal of conditions by myself, since my husband passed away in early spring. The questions that have popped up recently are:

1- For the cover letter, does anyone know if there is a specific law I can reference that applies to my circumstances (e.g. "I am eligible under XXX Section 123")?

2- Do you think it would be advisable for me to use a lawyer - is a denial likely in death-related cases, or is this doable by oneself?

3- If they do deny the I-751, could I file an I-360 (which is the "GC-for-widows-of-USCs" process) as a backup plan?

4- Your input on the evidence would be appreciated as well. We had been married only a year (and dated a year before that), so there isn't as much evidence as you'd have after two, but I've got the following:

• rental agreement with both names
• joint bank account statements
• used check copies with both names
• joint tax transcript for 2009
• life insurance policies with each other as beneficiaries
• car insurance with both names
• health insurance for us both
• 50+ pages in medical statements showing both names
• my pay stubs showing married status
• two affidavits from his family
• personal letter from me, explaining the situation
• death certificate with my name
• funeral home invoice in my name and credit card statement showing the charge
• cards and emails from family and friends, e.g. condolences
• correspondence of me keeping our friends updated on his health
• photo of me at the hospital with him, photo of me at the memorial service
• photos of our wedding, and others of us with both sets of parents
• both driver's licenses show our current address
• many envelopes showing both names, or one of our names but always same address

I am also wondering if there would be another interview - I understand it may or may not happen. But what good would it do to have only me in there? What do you think?

PS: Bob, not sure what you meant with there being an exception, sorry.

Loss of the petitioning spouse is one of the reasons to file alone, and it works like a joker. You are not out of status and you can (and should) file once you are up to it. Your petition will be approved and you will get your 10-year Green Card right away, with one exception, which I dare to to state here, given your recent loss.

Thank you for your encouraging words, Bob, that is good to hear. I'm quite worn out and not ready for a battle.

Thank you all very much for your warm wishes. It is good to hear that this doesn't mean falling out of status, so I don't have to deal with this right away and can do it when things have settled a bit. My spouse's family and I are still in shock.

We did have a small life insurance policy but it will only cover half of the medical bills. Nevertheless, I think I will go the safe route and get assistance from the lawyer that helped us with the AOS last year.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all again for your input and help. Please stay safe and healthy. Health really is the most important thing in life.

Something horrrible has happened and my spouse has suddenly passed. I feel completely lost and have no idea what to do now. My conditional PR expires in mid 2011. If I understand correctly, I'll have to remove conditions on my own with a widow waiver. This is where my questions begin.

1- Since my conditional GC is based on marriage, am I out of status now?

2- Do I still have to wait until the 90-day window of the 2 year anniversary or can I/must I file earlier?

3- Do I use form I-751 or I-360 (which is a widow's petition for GC)?

4- Is this what the 2009 law change regarding the widow penalty is about? (if so, I'd like to get a lawyer)

I'm not sure I'll be able to afford a lawyer because there is a mountain of medical bills and funeral costs - so your input would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

CRIS just emailed me that CAAAAAARD PRODUCTION OOOOOOORDEEEEERED!

The online status shows that it was ordered on Friday (interview day) so the IO's "review" must have went quickly.

I can't believe it's all over....wow. I need to go get some fresh air.

Thank you both for your encouraging messages, juliava and trillium, it is truly appreciated. My very best wishes to your processes as well!

Glad it went well. They didn't take EAD/I-94 from us either, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Phew, so glad to hear that! How long did it take until your online status was updated with your approval?

Any news about this interview?

Yes, it went very well - and they didn't even touch half of the things we brought...nor our photo album. We were told there would just be a quick review but everything looked good. Explained about removal of conditions in 2 years but did not take the EAD/I-94 (which we hope is not unusual.)

We will post the details in the section of the Local Office Reviews (Den) shortly.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, texaspanpan :-) Now that it's getting close, we don't want to leave any room for doubt, so we'll drag all our heavy binders in there tomorrow. We'll feel like mules.

That is way too enough.

I prepared alot too, but they saw none of them.

Thank you both so much for your feedback and your well wishes, we appreciate it! We do have an written agreement that says we live with family member XY and that we are not required to pay rent, but it's not notarized so I didn't think it counted for much. ;-)

This time tomorrow....oh dear....

Good morning everyone,

Our interview is coming up tomorrow and we're glad we're almost done with AOS (from B-2). Last night, we went through our binders one last time to double-check that our bases are covered. There's proof of:

• a joint checking and savings account
• 4 credit card accounts in both names
• car insurance listing both
• life insurance for both
• health insurance for both
• joint mail and magazine subscriptions
• e-mails between foreign spouse to/from the USC's family members
• wedding cards and gifts from family
• photos from going out, family get-togethers, wedding, etc.

Do you think we have enough, or do you have suggestions for anything else?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, bubbley. We'll have our interview in Denver, too, but we don't have the date yet. How long in advance did you get the appointment letter?

Thanks again!

You're welcome =) We got our appointment letter a little over a month in advance. Good luck on your interview =)

Found out that we'll have ours on October 23. Was yours in the morning too, bubbley, and did you have to wait long?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, bubbley. We'll have our interview in Denver, too, but we don't have the date yet. How long in advance did you get the appointment letter?

Thanks again!

I'm going to *hopefully* be around the same time as you poprocks, or a little after. So keep us updated!

It's been about a month since my walk-in bio and I'm feeling all kinds of useless just hanging about right now!

Lostfairy, our timelines are identical - almost to the exact days. Except that my bio walk-in was declined.

Wishing you all the best.

We're July 09 filers as well. Biometrics next week, and then comes the wait for the interview date.