Removal of Conditions
Removal of Conditions for Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
If you obtain your green card through marriage, and at the time your case is approved you are married to the petitioner for less than two years, you are given “conditional” Permanent Resident status.
To “remove” the conditions, the applicant must provide additional evidence to the USCIS that the marriage is (or was) legitimate.
Generally, the applicant may apply for the removal of conditions if still married and living with the U.S. citizen spouse, or if divorced, and can prove that the marriage was entered into in good faith but ended in divorce or annulment. Widows and widowers too, as well as battered spouses and those subjected to extreme and cruel hardship by a US citizen or permanent resident spouse, may apply to remove conditions.
The applicant, if still married and living with the U.S. citizen spouse, must apply for the removal of conditions during the 90 day period before the second anniversary of conditional status. If the applicant is no longer married or has been battered or subjected to extreme hardship by the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, then the applicant can file for removal of conditions at any time.
If the applicant’s child received conditional status within 90-days of the principal applicant, the child may be included in the principal’s application. Otherwise, the child must file separately.
The evidence provided to the USCIS varies in each case and it is important to work together with experienced immigration counsel to ensure a successful application.
Removal of Conditions
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