Removal of Conditions, Explained
How to make your 2-year green card permanent
If you and your spouse had been married for less than two years at the time your green card (visa) was approved, your green card will be “conditional,” and only valid for two years. Your next step will be to apply for Removal of Conditions and obtain a 10-year green card to become a permanent resident of the United States.
What is a Conditional Green Card?
A conditional green card means you can live and work in the U.S., like any other green card holder, but for only two years before having to update your status again to a full, ten-year green card.
Conditional green cards cannot be renewed. You will lose your permanent resident status and will have to leave the United States if your immigration status is not adjusted within the 90-day window before your conditional green card expires.
In the case of marriage-based immigration, you’ll once again need to prove that your marriage is real after this two-year period, after which you’ll be able to get a “permanent” green card, valid for 10–year renewable periods. (The letters “IR1” on the physical green card stand for “immediate relative.”)
The letters “CR1” on the physical green card stand for “conditional resident.”
Who Receives a Conditional Green Card?
USCIS grants conditional green cards in the following cases:
- Marriage-based green cards: If a foreign spouse has been married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident for less than two years at the time their green card is approved, they receive a conditional green card valid for two years.
- EB-5 investor green cards: Foreign investors who obtain a green card through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program initially receive a conditional green card valid for two years. They must file Form I-829 to remove conditions and prove their investment has met the job-creation requirements.
How to Apply For Removal of Conditions
If you or your spouse has conditional permanent residency, you’ll need to file Form I-751, “Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence” so that you can get a permanent green card. Here are some of the most important things to remember:
- The timing is important. You’ll need to file your I-751 during the 90-day window before your conditional permanent residency expires. Your application will be returned if it’s filed too early, or denied if it’s filed late — and if you can’t show any extenuating circumstances to explain why the application is late.
- Form I-751 is a joint petition. Both spouses will need to complete the form together, and both spouses need to sign the form.
- You’ll need to include additional evidence that your marriage is real. USCIS expects that since you’ve now been married for two years longer, you’ll have new photos together, new joint financial documentation, and possibly even children together. You should include the same types of evidence that you included with your original green card application, but this should be evidence that you’ve accumulated in the time since your original green card application was approved.
- You’ll need to include a copy of the front and back of your conditional green card, along with the $750 filing fee.
- USCIS may waive the interview requirement for removing conditions on residency if the couple provides strong evidence that their marriage is legitimate. While interviews were once more common, updated guidance has made waivers more frequent in cases where couples provide sufficient documentation.
What Happens If You Don’t Remove the Conditions
If you don’t remove the conditions on your permanent residency, you will be “out of status” as soon as your conditional green card expires. You could very likely be placed in deportation proceedings, and in any event you will start accruing “unlawful presence” that could lead to you being barred from the United States for three or ten years if you left and tried to reenter.
In today’s environment of increased scrutiny and extended processing times, removing conditions on your green card shouldn’t be a source of stress. With Boundless, you get expert guidance, guaranteed approval, and peace of mind for a fraction of attorney costs. Learn more.
Reasons You Might Be Denied
There are typically only three reasons that an application to remove the conditions on permanent residency might be denied. They are:
- Filing the application late without providing evidence of extenuating circumstances.
- Failing to provide enough documentation that you and your spouse have built a life together.
- USCIS suspects that your marriage is fraudulent.
It’s possible to avoid all of those reasons for denial by ensuring that you file Form I-751 at the right time, that you provide strong evidence that you’ve built a life with your spouse, and by responding to any Requests for Evidence (RFEs) you get from USCIS.
Let Boundless transform your conditional green card into a 10-year permanent one. Expert support and guaranteed approval for just $345. Get started today.
Marriage and Removal of Conditions
Every marriage green card applicant who has been married for less than two years receives a conditional green card, also known as “conditional permanent residency.” Practically speaking, a conditional permanent resident has the same rights and privileges as a permanent resident.
Getting a CR1 visa has nothing to do with how much proof of a valid relationship you and your spouse provided, or how convinced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is that you have a genuine marriage. It does, however, mean that there is one more step to becoming a permanent green card holder: filing Form I-751. This form must be submitted within the 90-day period before your conditional green card expires, along with evidence that your marriage is ongoing and legitimate. If approved, USCIS will grant you a 10-year green card, removing the conditions on your residency.
History of Conditional Permanent Residency
Marriage fraud has been a concern in U.S. immigration law ever since family ties —and especially marriages — became one of the primary ways to immigrate to the United States. In 1986, the precursor to USCIS estimated that one in three marriages between a U.S. citizen and a foreign national were fraudulent. That same year, Congress began enacting tougher requirements for marriage-based green cards, and introduced the “conditional green card” as part of the effort to deter sham marriages.
As it turns out, the estimate that a third of couples who apply for marriage-based green cards got married solely for immigration reasons was grossly exaggerated. The agency revised its estimates downward, saying that only a relatively small percentage of marriage-based green card applications are fraudulent. Less than one percent of marriage-based green card applications are denied for fraud.
Conditional green cards (CR-1 visas) for newlyweds have remained a part of the U.S. immigration system, even though the concerns about fraud that led to their introduction were overstated. They give USCIS another chance to revisit the authenticity of your relationship and ensure that you have a genuine, or “bona fide,” marriage.
Conditional Green Card FAQs
If your spouse dies before you can remove the conditions on your permanent residency, you will have to file Form I-751 and include a copy of your spouse’s death certificate, as well as any evidence you have of the life you shared together.
In this circumstance, you can file your Form I-751 any time between when your spouse dies and when your green card expires—you don’t need to wait for the 90-day window before your conditional permanent residency expires.
This category is the trickiest, because it doesn’t technically require that you prove that your marriage was entered into in good faith, or for reasons other than to get a green card. Instead, you’re asked to prove that you would face “extreme hardship” if you were to have to return to your home country. When USCIS looks at applications that claim “extreme hardship,” it only considers factors that have arisen in the time since your green card was originally approved.
For example, if a civil war started in your home country during the time between when you initially applied for a marriage-based green card and the time when you are applying to remove the conditions on your green card, that might qualify as “extreme hardship.” See this website for more information about extreme hardship.
If more than one of the above special circumstances apply, you can ask USCIS to consider all of them by checking as many boxes on Form I-751 as are relevant to you— for example, if you were in an abusive marriage which ended in divorce, and removal from the United States will cause you extreme hardship, you would check all three boxes on the I-751 to request that USCIS consider all your circumstances when evaluating your application for a 10-year green card.