- You are still married to the same U.S. citizen or permanent resident after the two-year conditional period.
- You are a widow or widower who entered into your marriage in good faith.
- You entered into your marriage in good faith, but the marriage ended in divorce or annulment.
- You entered into your marriage in good faith, but either your or your child were battered or subjected to extreme hardship by your U.S. citizen or permanent residence spouse, or
- Removing you from the country would result in extreme hardship.
In some circumstances, you may be eligible to receive only a two-year green
card, which means that you have conditional residence. One of the most
common reasons for receiving a two-year green card is when your
conditional resident status
is based on a marriage that is less than two years old on the date that
you receive your status. Your green card is conditional because you need
to prove that your recent marriage is valid and not intended to evade
U.S. immigration laws. At the end of the two-year period, your green card
is not renewable. Rather, you must successfully petition for the removal
of the conditions on your green card (this is done on form I-751). If
you fail to do so, then you will lose your permanent resident status.
You should file your petition to remove the conditions on your green card
90 days prior to your green card’s expiration date. Normally, you
must file the petition to remove the conditions on your green card jointly
with your spouse. However, you can request a waiver of the joint filing
requirement in certain circumstances, such as if you have divorced or
have your marriage annulled and were not at fault for failing to timely
file a petition to remove the conditions. Likewise, you may be able to
get the joint filing requirement waived if your spouse battered you or
your child or treated you with extreme cruelty. You are eligible to remove
the conditions from your green card if you fall within one of the following
classifications:
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