Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing K-1 Fiancé Visas and what I call the so-called widow's dilemma. I am not trying to be snarky with this title, this is a very serious issue. 

In the past there was actually a split in the Circuit Courts as to what would happen if a K-1 Fiancé entered the United States, even got married but had yet to complete their adjustment of status. There was one Circuit that said: 'naa, we go ahead and treat it, if that person's spouse died we go ahead and treat it as if they hadn't died, we just go ahead and process it' and there was another Circuit that said 'no it extinguished at the moment that the person died'. Ultimately, this went to the Supreme Court; they decided and said and I think it was rightly so, 'hey just treat it as if the person's spouse had not passed away, they did everything in good faith, we are going to go ahead and issue them their Immigration benefits'. 

So again, if a K-1 fiancé gets to the United States, marries their prospective spouse and then that spouse passes away, in the sense of Immigration and again, that would be a terrible set of circumstances, but in the sense of Immigration Law, no there would be very little effect. That widow, or widower for that matter, could still seek their Immigration benefits. Where there is kind of a dilemma with K-1 Visas though is the same cannot be said if that fiancé is abroad because they haven't married their American citizen counterpart. This is where possibly for older folks where you have got one partner, or where both parties are a little bit older or there may be some health issues involved, it may not be a terrible idea to be looking at a Marriage Visa, getting married first rather than seeking a Fiancé Visa because the marriage itself, there is a widow benefit for Marriage Visas specifically; there is an ability to file for a widow of a United States citizen. There is not an ability to file for the fiancé of a United States citizen that passed away if that person has not entered the United States and got married. So again, if there are health issues or age issues associated with a given couple, it may not be a bad idea to go ahead and seriously consider getting married before getting into the Immigration process.