As a general matter, an immigrant granted lawful permanent residence through a marriage that was less than two years old when his “green card” was granted will first be granted conditional permanent residence, or a conditional “green card”.  Conditional permanent residence is valid for two years and an immigrant with this status must file for the removal of the conditions on his residency before that status expires.  This is done by filing Form I-751 with USCIS.

Failure to apply for the removal of conditions when required will result in the immigrant losing his residency and in his placement in removal proceedings.  Thus, it is imperative that a conditional permanent resident timely apply for the removal of the conditions, and that he provide evidence that his is eligible for the removal of conditions.  To do this, a conditional permanent resident must show that he is still married to the same U.S. citizen or permanent resident after two years (children may be included if they received their conditional resident status either at the same time or within 90 days as the immigrant parent); is a child and, for a valid reason, cannot be included in his parents’ application; is a widow or widower who entered into the marriage in good faith; entered into a marriage in good faith, but the marriage ended through divorce or annulment; or entered into a marriage in good faith, but either the applicant or his child were battered or subjected to extreme hardship by the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse.  The evidence that must be included with an application to remove conditions on permanent residence will vary from person to person.

The attorneys of the Franco Law Group are experienced in preparing and filing applications to remove conditions on permanent residence and are available to discuss your case.