The I-360 is due within 2 years of the citizen spouse's death; a pending I-130 converts automatically. Remarriage before the green card ends eligibility.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Fitenko, Esq. — Florida Bar #1064536. With 20+ years of experience in the legal field, she advises Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking clients on immigration filings and case strategy, in English and Russian.
A widow or widower of a U.S. citizen can still become a permanent resident after the spouse's death. The USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 2) states that upon the death of the U.S. citizen, the surviving spouse may still qualify as an immediate relative. The route is Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, which the survivor files on their own behalf.
Immediate relatives do not wait for a Visa Bulletin date. That makes the widow(er) category very different from the family preference lines, where a beneficiary can wait many years. The practical problems in these cases are almost never the queue; they are the deadline, the evidence and the order of events. Under the current rules, the case does not simply die with the petitioner.
The USCIS page "Green Card for Widow(er) of a U.S. Citizen" sets out the requirements. As of October 2026, the survivor must:
The length of the marriage no longer decides eligibility. Before a 2009 amendment, the law required the couple to have been married at least two years. USCIS now states that a survivor may be eligible even if the couple was married for less than two years when the spouse died. A short marriage does not disqualify anyone, but it does put more weight on the evidence that the marriage was genuine: a joint residence, shared finances, insurance, photographs over time, statements from people who knew the couple. Each eligibility point also needs its own document, starting with the death certificate and proof of the late spouse's U.S. citizenship.
The bona fide marriage question is the same one asked in any spousal case. Our marriage-based green card practice builds this evidence routinely, and our article on green card interview preparation describes how it is usually tested.
A widow or widower who files a new I-360 must do so within 2 years of the citizen spouse's death. USCIS states the rule plainly on its I-360 page: the petition must be filed no later than two years after the spouse's death. A survivor who misses that date generally loses the widow(er) classification, regardless of how strong the marriage evidence is.
This deadline is easy to miss. In the first months after a death, immigration paperwork is the last thing on anyone's mind, and two years pass faster than families expect. The safer course is to calendar the date immediately and to review the case within the first months, not in the final weeks.
Survivors in the United States may file Form I-485 together with the I-360 or after it, while the I-360 is pending or after approval. A survivor outside the United States completes the case abroad: the approved I-360 is forwarded to the U.S. embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over where they live. USCIS changes filing locations from time to time; check the current direct filing address on uscis.gov before mailing. For fees, use the USCIS fee schedule at uscis.gov/g-1055 or the USCIS fee calculator rather than a number from an article.
If the citizen spouse filed an I-130 before dying, the survivor does not need to file anything new to keep the case alive. Under 8 CFR 204.2(i)(1)(iv) and the Policy Manual, USCIS automatically converts a pending or approved spousal I-130 into an I-360 when the citizen petitioner dies, provided the survivor meets the widow(er) requirements on the date of death.
A pending I-485 filed on the basis of that I-130 also continues; USCIS states that it will keep processing the application and a second one is not needed. In practice, USCIS still has to learn of the death, so the survivor should notify the agency, submit the death certificate and expect to update the file. For how the adjustment application itself works, see our complete guide to Form I-485.
Remarriage before the green card ends widow(er) eligibility on a self-filed I-360. USCIS states that eligibility based on an I-360 filed after the citizen spouse died ends if the survivor remarries before immigrating or adjusting status. Remarriage after becoming a permanent resident does not take the green card away.
There is one important nuance. Where the late spouse had already filed an I-130 before death, USCIS states that remarriage does not necessarily prevent immigration: under INA 204(l), USCIS can approve the petition as an I-130 even if the survivor has remarried. INA 204(l) has its own conditions, including that the survivor resided in the United States when the spouse died and continues to reside here, and approval remains discretionary. Anyone considering remarriage while a case is pending should have the order of events reviewed first.
A survivor who already holds a two-year conditional green card generally does not need an I-360. Conditions are removed on Form I-751, and the death of the spouse after a good-faith marriage is one of the listed grounds to request a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Our guide to removing conditions with Form I-751 covers the form.
The survivor's unmarried children under 21 may be included as derivatives on the I-360, including when the I-360 was converted from an I-130. The Policy Manual notes that a widow or widower, unlike other immediate relatives, is permitted to have derivative beneficiaries. Fitenko Law handles these cases in English and Russian; see our family-based immigration services. No attorney can promise how USCIS will decide a particular case or how long it will take.
Often, yes. A surviving spouse who was married to the citizen at the time of death, was not divorced or legally separated, has not remarried and can prove a genuine marriage may self-petition on Form I-360 as an immediate relative.
The I-360 must be filed within 2 years of the U.S. citizen spouse's death. It applies to a new self-petition; a spousal I-130 filed before the death converts to an I-360 automatically.
No. Since a 2009 amendment, USCIS states that a survivor may be eligible even if the marriage lasted less than two years before the spouse died. The marriage must still be shown to have been genuine.
No. USCIS automatically converts a pending or approved spousal I-130 into an I-360 when the citizen petitioner dies. A pending I-485 based on that I-130 continues, so a second application is not needed.
Remarriage before becoming a permanent resident ends eligibility on an I-360 filed after the spouse's death. If the late spouse had filed an I-130 before dying, INA 204(l) may still allow approval as an I-130 despite remarriage, subject to its own conditions.
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This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules, fees and processing times change; confirm current requirements with the agency or with counsel before relying on anything here.
Fitenko Law PLLC, 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076 (main office); 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (by appointment only). Phone: (305) 315-3425. Email: fitenkolaw@gmail.com