The official allegation allows authorities to start trying to extradite David Gabriel Watson, of Birmingham, Alabama, to face the charges in Australia.
Watson's wife, Christina Mae Watson, drowned on October 22, 2003.
The couple had been exploring a shipwreck off Queensland's coast, 11 days after their wedding.
In June this year, a coroner found there was sufficient evidence to charge Watson with killing his wife.
The husband was an experienced diver and had been acting as a so-called dive buddy for his less-experienced spouse on the day she died.
He told police she panicked underwater and then sank away from him.
Watson said he decided to go for help rather than following her to the sea floor to attempt a rescue.
During the coroner's inquest, police testified they initially thought the death was an accident.
But they became suspicious when Watson changed details of his account.
The coroner said the circumstances of the drowning remained unclear but that a possible motive was Tina Watson's modest life insurance policy.
Justice Keiran Cullinane has now said that Watson was required to appear in court on February 3, 2009, to answer the indictment.
But the judge noted that he had no power to force the American to return to Australia.
Australia and the United States have an extradition treaty, but the process can take months and Watson's lawyers have said they would probably oppose such a move.
Source:
Sky News
http@//www.news.sky.com
