Rete

Of course it is hard to say now what you would do if the person you moved to the US to be with died. However, for many people, such as yourself, you did not move here to be with her but moved here to live here before you met her. Such is the case of many people who came to the US as students, visitors, workers, regardless as to whether they are here on legal visa or illegal such as yourself, met someone they fell in love with and that someone being an American Citizen was able to provide them and you a basis for establishing permanent residency within the US. It is not unrealistic to assume that most people, and again I will use the word majority, have family, friends and a lifestyle, no matter how different from what we have in the US, that they can return to their own countries to reclaim as their way of life.

From reading the expats site over the years, I see that is not unusual for british expats to move once, twice, thrice times during their lifetimes to different countries such as Australia, Canada, or another major country of Europe. Especially since to move within the UE these days is so very very easy. And from reading BE, I see that many of them return to their native country of England to resume the lives they abandoned when they moved abroad.

Yes, nothing remains the same. But that, again, is true of your lives here in the US. If your spouse were to die, your life is irrevocably changed. Don't fool yourself that you will still have friends, because you won't. Those who were friends when you were a couple will stop calling because you no longer fit in. There is no longer a common denominator in your friendship. You might not be comfortable living in the same house or apartment because of memories and again your life will change when you move. Perhaps the wanderlust will strike and will move to another state or city and again, your life will change.

Also if you married only because that marriage will bring you residency in a country that you wanted to be in and that was the only way you could obtain it or if your marriage allowed you to free yourself from object poverty, then you would not want to return to live in a country which only brought you misery and hardship.

While you have expressed your opinion of your situation, it does not necessarily encompass the opinions of everyone. Nor does mine encompass the whole either.

Rete

inquisitive40

My only opionion is that if the immigrant met all the original requirements to live in the country then they should still be allowed the choice to live in the country, the death of the USC should not remove all their rights here also.
Again "choice"
Patrick

AnnaV

You have a funny way of defining friendship. It seems like you don't have much regard for immigrants either. If our spouse dies, we lose our friends, too? Because we're immigrants, our whole lives necessarily revolve around our spouse and only our spouse? You must be imagining some barefoot, uneducated and illiterate stereotype from some African or Asian or South American country (that goes for you, too, Andrew).

We no longer fit in when our spouse dies? Maybe you'd like to spell it out a little better, Rete. Because in terms of offensive, I think this post takes the cake.

Rete

But there in lies one of the issues. If they had had the interview and been approved there would not be any issue. However, since they had not had the interview and the FS did not have residency, their qualifications were not tested and found approvable by the USCIS. The USCIS has placed a two year rule in place that is used to distinquish the time proof aspect of the marriage. In other words if the marriage endured for two years, then the valid by virtue of time lapsed is considered valid. Much the same as why if the AOS occurred after the second wedding anniversary the residency is unconditional rather than conditional.

However, your argument originally, as was Mexie's, is that the FS has cut all ties in their home country and therefore has nothing to return to. My argument is that yes, there is something to return to and that the mere selling of real estate does not mean one cannot resume a life comparative to the one their dissolved to move to another country.

Rete

inquisitive40

Point taken and accepted.
Patrick

Ray

Here's a thought! what if the sponsor for a better word was killed
during a criminal act by others ..would the U visa come into play

sibsie

What did they do with the 9-11 widows? I know a lot of them ended up being allowed to stay.

Rete

What does one have to do with the other?

Yes, I have been there and lived through the death of a "spouse". A significant other of 7 years and yes, our mutual friends stopped calling and being involved because our lifestyles and agendas were different. I hope you don't have to live through finding out the truth to that statement.

You interpreted my response the way you choose to, not the way it was written. That is your choice.

Take offense. I care not.

Rete

Rete

Only after much public outcry and special acts aimed at only them. There were asked to leave the US along with their USC children.

Rete

Rete

My word, AnnaV, I didn't realize that you thought of people in South American, Africa and Asia in those terms. How enlightening your post is in your description of how you view people from those countries. This must be true as I never once mentioned a country or nationality or any of the attributes that you so quickly attributed to me.

Terms of offensive? Now I should be the one offended by your trying to foster your view of a certain nationalities onto me.

Rete

AnnaV

I read it in the context of an immigrant losing a spouse and have no longer a right to live here. When you said your friendship no longer has a common denominator, I took "common denominator" to mean the US citizen spouse, which means that the immigrant spouse has no "real friends". I didn't even think of it in terms of the single vs married couple thing.

With the context more clear (you talking about losing a spouse in general, not immigrants in particular), then I admit I absolutely misread that paragraph. Misreading it wasn't difficult, though, having to take all that crap about immigrants from some of the other posts.

My apologies, although you already said you don't really care.

Folinskyinla

If memory serves me correct, PATRIOT had special immigration dispensations for those spouses.

AnnaV

I said "stereotype." And again, this is in view of the other posts. I AM one of those people from those countries, and I know the stereotype very well, having been branded by it personally and which also shows up in this newsgroup from time to time (I have to admit not too often, though). How you can jump to the conclusion that that is how I view people from other countries is beyond me.

idawmn

I just wondered how a person from another country can "establish" themselves in such a short period of time. I came from Canada where the similarities are pretty much the same as the U.S. No culture shock or anything like that. I have been married for 25 months now and if should something happen to my husband, I would more than likely return to Canada. While there are the friends and his family members here, my family members are back there. I like it here don't get me wrong. Perhaps my way of thinking would be different once I've lived here a good 5 years, maybe longer and if something should happen to my husband.

Everyone is different, this is just my opinion

inquisitive40

Yes, maybe my views come from living here near 5 years, I know originally without a question of a doubt I would have returned home if myself and my SO had split up, now I am not that sure what I would do.
Patrick