A. If your U.S. citizen spouse died on or after October 28, 2009, you will have two years from the date of the citizen spouse’s death to file a Form I-360 petition. If your U.S. citizen spouse died before October 28, 2009, and you did not have a Form I-130 pending on October 28, 2009, you have until October 28, 2011, to file a Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant for you and your unmarried minor children.

A. Currently, USCIS requires that applicants who are submitting a Form I-360 as a widow(er) must file the form with the Vermont Service Center along with the supporting evidence and fees specified in the Form I-360 instructions.  The Form I-360 and filing instructions can be found at the USCIS website, under the “Forms” tab.

A. Your Form I-130 will automatically convert to a widow(er)’s Form I-360. USCIS will adjudicate your converted I-360 and notify you with a decision. If your case has been the subject of litigation in any Federal court on the issue of the effect of the petitioner’s death on your Form I-130, you will receive notification from USCIS that the Form I-130 has been reopened.

A. No.  Under the INA, a widow(er) of a citizen and his or her accompanying children are not required to submit Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.

A. If you were already granted deferred action, and received an employment authorization document on that basis, USCIS will not terminate your deferred action or your EAD.  Now that Congress has enacted the ameliorative legislation, however, any Form I-360 that was filed to obtain deferred action and has not yet been adjudicated as a deferred action request will now be considered to be an I-360 widow(er)s petition. If your prior I-360 was already approved as a deferred action request, USCIS will, on its own motion, reopen your Form I-360 and adjudicate it as an I-360 widow(er) petition. It will not be necessary for you to file a formal motion or to pay a new Form I-360 filing fee.