Removing Conditions on Your 2-Year Green Card

Congratulations on your permanent residence! Read below for details on removing the conditions on your 2-year green card.

Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

As newly weds you applied for permanent residence and you finally received your green card! Only to see its validity for two years. The main difference between the 2 and 10-year card is that you must submit Form I-751 to essentially prove to USCIS (yet again) that your marriage was valid and not entered into solely for immigration purposes.

90-Day Filing Rule

If you’re still married to the person who sponsored your green card, you must file Form I-751 within 90 days of your conditional green card expiring. You cannot file any earlier and you cannot file after the expiration of your card. Should you miss this window, you may have to reapply for your permanent residence altogether.

The exception: if you’re now divorced. USCIS will accept a “late” filing of Form I-751 if you are now divorced from the sponsoring petitioner. Still, to avoid delays you should timely submit Form I-751.

Why Did I Receive a 2-Year Card Instead of 10-Year Card?

The USCIS issues 2-year green cards to applicants who apply based on a marriage that was less than 2 years old at the time of your application approval.

This is, perhaps, the only time long processing times are welcome. If your green card application or immigrant visa is approved before your second wedding anniversary, you will be issued the conditional 2-year card. Because your marriage was fairly new, USCIS requires applicants to submit Form I-751 to confirm that your marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely for immigration purposes.

Naturalization to Become a U.S. Citizen

Even though you were issued a 2-year card, you are still eligible for naturalization based on the 3-year timeline as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.

Often applicants will have both an I-751 and N-400 pending with USCIS. This is perfectly fine, though USCIS cannot approve the N-400 application until the I-751 petition is approved. Sometimes the adjudicating office will be able to adjudicate both at the same time.

Conclusion

Here, the most important factor to remember is timing. You cannot miss the 90-day window for filing the I-751 petition unless you are now divorced. Submitting Form I-751 after the expiration of your conditional green card can have serious consequences and may result in having to reapply for permanent residence all over again.

So enter a reminder in your calendar and make sure to file the petition on time!