Removal of Conditions

A lawful permanent resident is given the privilege of living and working in the U.S. permanently. If your marriage is less than 2 years old on the day you are granted lawful permanent residence status, you permanent status is “conditional” and your green card will be issued for 2 years.

You are given conditional resident status on the day you are lawfully admitted to the U.S. on an immigrant visa or receive Adjustment of Status.

• For Consular Processing applications (foreign nationals who obtain an immigrant visa at the U.S. consulate or embassy), if the marriage is less than 2 years old when the applicant enters the U.S. for the first time with their immigrant visa, the applicant will get a 2 year conditional green card.
• For Adjustment of Status (I-485) applicants, if the marriage is less than 2 years old when the I-485 is approved, the applicant will get a 2 year conditional green card.

Your permanent resident status is conditional because you must prove, again, that you did not get married solely to obtain lawful permanent residence and/or immigration benefits. In order to get the regular, 10-year green card, you must apply to remove your conditions on permanent residence.

In addition to the foreign national spouse, step-children of the US citizen and K-2 children of K-1 fiancés will also receive a 2 year conditional green card if the marriage between the U.S. citizen and the child’s parent is less than 2 years old when status is granted

The application to “remove conditions” is called the Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. It generally must be filed in the 90-day period before the green card expires.

If you are still married to the same U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident that sponsored your green card application, you must apply to remove your conditions on permanent residence jointly with your spouse.

Your children may be included in your application if they received their conditional resident status at the same time that you did or within 90 days from the day that you obtained your green card.

A child can file the application without their parent if they cannot be included in their parent’s I-751 for a valid reason.

In order to file the Form I-751 without your spouse, you must be eligible for a waiver of the joint filing requirement. You may be eligible for a waiver if you:

1. Are a widow or widower of a marriage that was entered into in good faith
2. Entered into a marriage in good faith, but the marriage ended through divorce or annulment
3. Entered into a marriage in good faith, but either you or your child were battered or subjected to extreme hardship by your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse
4. Can prove that the termination of your conditional resident status would cause extreme hardship to you

OR

Check My Eligibility

The required documents and forms include (but are not limited to):

1. Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence signed by both you and your spouse

2. Copy of the Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card)

3. Evidence that you did not get married solely to obtain lawful permanent residence and/or other immigration benefits and that you are marriage is “bona fide”. Examples of such evidence includes, but is not limited to:

You may request a waiver of the joint petitioning requirements if you:

1. Entered into the marriage in good faith, but your spouse subsequently died
2. Entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was later terminated due to divorce or annulment
3. Entered into the marriage in good faith, and remain married, but have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, or
4. Can prove that the termination of your status and removal would result in extreme hardship to you

Note: Although you may qualify under more than ground, you can only formally request consideration of one waiver ground

The documents required are:

1. Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence

2. Copy of Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card)

3. Certified copy of your divorce decree or annulment

4. Evidence that you did not get married solely to obtain lawful permanent residence and/or other immigration benefits and that you are marriage is “bona fide”. Examples of such evidence includes, but is not limited to:

If you are a conditional resident who has legally separated from your spouse but your divorce or annulment is not final, you are technically not eligible to file the Form I-751 requesting a waiver of the joint filing requirement.

However, in order to allow applicants to file the Form I-751 before their conditional residence expires, USCIS has created an exception to this rule.

Applicants who are legally separated or whose divorce/annulment is pending can file the Form I-751 with the request for waiver of the joint filing requirement based on divorce. In this scenario, USCIS will send a Request for Evidence to the applicant for the copy of the final divorce or annulment decree. Once they receive the response, USCIS will continue processing the application.

If you unable to furnish the final divorce or annulment decree in response to the Request for Evidence, USCIS will deny the Form I-751.

The documents required are:

1. Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence

2. Copy of Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card)

3. Copy of your spouse’s death certificate

4. Evidence that you did not get married solely to obtain lawful permanent residence and/or other immigration benefits and that you are marriage is “bona fide”. Examples of such evidence includes, but is not limited to:

You must inform USCIS that your marriage was terminated through divorce, annulment or death of the spouse. When writing to USCIS, you must include a copy of the divorce/annulment decree or death certificate and a request for USCIS to amend the jointly filed Form I-751 to one where you are requesting a waiver of the joint filing requirement based on divorce or the widow/widower provision.

The documents required are:

1. Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence

2. Copy of Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card)

3. Copy of your spouse’s death certificate

4. Evidence that you did not get married solely to obtain lawful permanent residence and/or other immigration benefits and that you are marriage is “bona fide”. Examples of such evidence includes, but is not limited to:

5. Evidence of battery, abuse and/or extreme cruelty

The documents required are:

• Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence
• Copy of Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card)
• Copy of your parent’s Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (green card). If the parent’s conditions have been removed, include a copy of the new 10-yr card.
• A written explanation of why you are filing separately from your parent, and any supporting documentation

You are required to file the Form I-751 in the 90-day period before your card expires. If you fail to file, you risk your permanent resident status being terminated.

If you have missed the filing window you should make every effort to submit the Form I-751 as soon as possible. The Form I-751 can be filed after the 90-day period if you can show, in writing, to USCIS that there was good cause for failing to file the petition on time. USCIS has the discretion to approve the petition even when the petition is filed late.
If you fail to properly file before the expiration of the card or even within a reasonable period of time after:

1. You may receive a notice from the Service telling you that you have failed to remove the conditions and a Notice to Appear at an immigration hearing. At the hearing you may review and rebut the evidence against you but you are at risk of being removed from the U.S. and losing your green card.
2. You will be afforded the opportunity to submit the Form I-751 during the immigration hearings as well.

No. As a lawful permanent resident, you already have the right to live and work in the U.S. The expiration of your card does not remove this right. Once your Form I-751 is filed, USCIS will issue the Form I-797, Notice of Action or Receipt Notice. The Receipt Notice not only is proof you have filed, but it serves as proof of your extended conditional resident status. As of today, the I-751 receipt notice extends the validity of your card by 48 months or 4 years.

Once you file your Form I-485, there are several ways you can check the status of the application:

1. Check out VisaPro’s My US Visa Status tool
2. Check on U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services’ website at Case Status Online – Case Status Search (uscis.gov)
3. Log into your MyUSCIS account

No, the Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence can be filed regardless of whether you are physically present in the U.S. at the time that you file. However, you may need to return to the U.S. to complete Biometrics (if applicable) or appear for an interview, if requested.

Yes, the regulations require that you and your spouse appear for a personal interview at the district office that serves the area where you live.

The interview is waived, however, in the majority of cases. USCIS generally waives the interview requirement if they are satisfied, based on the petition and attached evidence, that your marriage was not entered into solely to obtain immigration benefits, and will approve the I-751.

If your Form I-751 is denied by the USCIS you will receive a notice explaining the reasons for the denial. You may also be placed in removal proceedings and your file will be referred to an Immigration Judge. During the removal proceedings you will have an opportunity to present your case to the Immigration Judge. The USCIS must prove that the facts in your application were untruthful and/or that your application was properly denied. The Immigration Judge can grant your application, removing the conditions and restoring your permanent residence, or he can deny it and order you removed. If the Immigration Judge denies your application you may appeal that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Yes. Because your I-751 is pending and your status has been extended, you may file the N-400 based on 3 years of marriage to a US citizen, as long as you meet all other minimum requirements for naturalization as well.

The Naturalization application based on 3 years must be filed with the same type of evidence that was included with the I-751. During the N-400 interview, the officer will need to make a determination regarding both the Form N-400 and the Form I-751.