How to Remove Conditions of Your Permanent Residence

Because of growing suspicion that many marriages were entered for the purposes of evading the immigration laws, in 1986, Immigration and Marriage Fraud Amendments were enacted.

This amendment changed the law from granting automatic permanent residence to granting conditional residence to beneficiaries who married US citizens and did not reach their second wedding anniversary on the date of approval of their application for adjustment of status (green card). Accordingly, if a person obtains his or her green card before their second wedding anniversary, that person is a granted a two-year green card and is given conditional residence.

The conditional residence will be terminated after two-years. In order to remove the conditions on permanent residence before it is terminated, the person must file to remove the conditions within 90 days of the expiration of the two-year green card. In order to do this, an I-751 application must be filed and received by USCIS within the 90 days of the expiration of the two-year green card.

There are four different ways in which a person can remove the conditions on his or her lawful permanent residence.

The first way is to file a joint petition with the spouse who sponsored him or her for adjustment of status (green card). With this petition, USCIS will require evidence of a good faith marriage and the following must be provided:

The more documentation that is provided the more likely it will be that USCIS will approve the case.

If the beneficiary is no longer married to the spouse, the second way to file is to request a waiver based on the fact that the marriage was entered into in good faith, but it was terminated through divorce. With this waiver, the beneficiary will need to provide evidence of the good faith marriage just as he or she would if the marriage was still viable. The same documentation should be provided. In addition, however, the beneficiary must include a copy of the divorce decree in the filing. The beneficiary cannot file under this waiver until the divorce is final.

The third way to remove the conditions on permanent residence is to file a waiver because the beneficiary was battered or subject to extreme cruelty at the hands of the spouse. With this waiver, the beneficiary does not need to be divorced. He or she must show that the marriage was entered into a good faith and provide the same evidence that would have been submitted had it been a joint petition along with evidence of the battery or extreme cruelty. Evidence of battery or extreme cruelty can be presented in the form of police reports, hospital records, or affidavits from third parties who witnessed the battery or extreme cruelty.

The fourth way to remove the conditions on permanent residence is to file a waiver because the beneficiary would suffer extreme hardship, if he or she were deported or removed from the US. In this case, the beneficiary must provide all documentation showing an extreme hardship to him or her in the event of deportation or removal.

After USCIS receives the I-751 application to remove conditions, a receipt extending status will be mailed to the beneficiary. This receipt can be used to show that he or she is still eligible to work. If the beneficiary needs to travel outside the US, the beneficiary should bring his or her receipt to USCIS to get an I-551 stamp in the passport.

Once USCIS reviews the application, they will make a determination whether they will approve the case and send the permanent green card based on the documentation submitted with the application, or they can send a request to the beneficiary for additional documents, or they can send the case to the local district office and schedule an interview.

If the case is denied, the case may be referred to the Immigration Court and the beneficiary placed into removal proceedings.