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Petition to Remove the Conditions
on Residence 1 year and 9 months after entering the USA
Background
A lawful permanent resident is given the privilege of living and
working in the United States permanently. Your permanent residence status
will be conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than
two years old on the day you were given permanent residence. You are
given conditional resident status on the day you are lawfully admitted to
the United States on an immigrant visa or receive adjustment of status. Your
permanent resident status is conditional, because you must prove that you
did not get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States.
- You and your spouse must
apply together to remove the conditions on your residence. You should
apply during the 90 days before your second anniversary as a conditional
resident. The expiration date on your alien registration card (commonly
know as green card) is also the date of your second anniversary as a
conditional resident. If you do not apply to remove the conditions in
time, you could lose your conditional resident status and be removed from
the country.
- If you are no longer
married to your spouse, or if you have been battered or abused by your
spouse, you can apply to waive the joint filing requirement. In such
cases, you may apply to remove the conditions on your permanent residence
any time after you become a conditional resident, but before you are
removed from the country.
- If your child received
conditional resident status within 90 days of when you did, then your
child may be included in your application to remove the conditions
on permanent residence. Your child must file a separate application if
your child received conditional resident status more than 90 days after
you did.
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Who is
Eligible?
You may apply to remove your conditions on permanent residence if:
- You are still married to the
same U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident after two years (your children
may be included in your application if they got their conditional resident
status at the same time that you did or within 90 days).
- You are a child and cannot
be included in the application of your parents for a valid reason.
- You are a widow or widower
of a marriage that was entered into in good faith.
- You entered into a marriage
in good faith, but the marriage was ended through divorce or annulment.
- You 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.
- The termination of your
conditional resident status would cause extreme hardship to you.
What are the Application Procedures?
If you are filing a joint application with your spouse to remove
the conditions on your permanent residence, you must submit the following:
- INS Form I-751 (Petition to
Remove the Conditions on Residence) signed by both you and your spouse
- Copy of INS Form I-551
(Permanent Resident Card)
- Evidence that you did not
get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States. Examples of
such evidence includes, but is not limited to:
- Leases showing that you
and your spouse live in the same place
- Documents that prove that
you and your spouse own property together
- Birth certificates of your
children
PRINT YOUR I-751 NOW
Is a
Personal Interview of the Joint Petitioners Required?
You and your spouse must appear for a personal interview at the district office
that serves that area where you live. However, the director of the regional
service center where you file your petition has the discretion to waive the
interview requirement. The director will review the petition to determine
whether an interview is required. If the director is satisfied based on the
written petition that your marriage was not entered into in order to obtain
immigration benefits, he or she may waive the interview requirement and approve
the petition. If the director is not satisfied of the validity of your marriage
based on the petition, he or she will forward the petition to the district
office to conduct an interview.
Disclaimer:
Please note that the information on this page is not official information
from any organization.
The information provided here should not be taken as legal advice. Reliance on
the information is at the risk of the reader.
All information should be used as a rough guideline only.