A spouse of a deceased U.S. Citizen may file a petition on his/her own behalf under the following conditions:

• You were married for at least two years to a U.S. citizen who is now deceased and who had been a U.S. citizen for at least two years at the time of death

• Your U.S. citizen spouse's death was less than two years ago

• Both parties have met in person

• You were not legally separated from your U.S. citizen spouse at the time of death, and you have not remarried

For each I-360, original documents (bearing an original seal, stamp or signature of the office of record) plus one photocopy must be submitted. All documents and statements must be fully, accurately and correctly completed.

English translations of all foreign language documents are required. Any foreign language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and correct. The translator must certify that he/she is competent to translate the foreign language into English. It is not necessary to have the translation notarized.

The Embassy may request additional information anytime during the application process.

How and when to file a petition
An applicant for widow(er) of a US citizen may submit an application (Form I-360) by appointment. Appointments are available on Monday only, excluding American and Japanese holidays. Please send a fax to 03-3224-5929 to request an appointment.

The petition (Form I-360) must be filed with the following documents

		PROOF OF SPOUSE'S CITIZENSHIP: Official proof of U.S. citizenship of your spouse such as a birth certificate if born in the U.S.; Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship issued by US CIS (formerly known as US INS) Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen, or U.S. passport which was valid at the time of the citizen’s death.
		MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: Original copy of your marriage certificate to the U.S. citizen and proof of termination of all prior marriages of either of you.
		DEATH CERTIFICATE: Original copy of the death certificate of your U.S. citizen spouse.
		PASSPORT: Your valid passport
		BIRTH CERTIFICATE: Your original birth certificate (e.g. koseki shohon).
		DS-230 PART 1: Your completed Form DS-230 Part I “Biographic data”.
		APPLICATION FEE: $375 payable at the Consular Section cashier in Yen or U.S. dollars with cash, credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club or American Express) or money order payable to the "U.S. Embassy, Tokyo". Please note that this fee is non-refundable, even if an applicant is found ineligible for a visa.
		ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS: English translations of documents in foreign languages.

IMPORTANT

See this USCIS Webpage on Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant

If your I-360 petition has been approved

You must apply for an immigrant visa. The instructions for the next step will be given to you. Among the documents you must gather and retain are civil documents that pertain to your case, police clearance(s) and a medical examination. Only after you inform us that all the documents are in hand can we schedule a visa interview. We conduct the interviews by appointments only on Mondays excluding American and Japanese holidays.

If your I-360 petition was denied

A U.S. relative or U.S. employer may file an immigrant petition on your behalf in the normal manner. Information on the various types of immigrant and employment based petitions are available at Department of State website