- Removal conditions from Green card
The most common situation in which a person is granted a conditional green card is one where the lawful permanent resident status is based on a marriage that is less than two years old. This means if you married a U.S. citizen less than two years before coming to the United States on an immigrant visa or receiving your adjustment of status, you will be granted conditional permanent residence. The purpose of granting a conditional green card in such a situation is to ensure that your marriage is real and not just a ploy to work around U.S. immigration laws.
In most such cases, you and your spouse must jointly file the removal of conditions application in the 90-day period prior to the second anniversary of your conditional residence. Failure to apply in the designated window could cause you to lose your conditional green card altogether. Your application package must include evidence that your marriage is legitimate. Such evidence could include wedding invitations, church notices, joint bank or credit statements, proof of joint ownership of automobiles or residences, or children’s birth certificates.
If you and your spouse get divorced, or you are the victim of spousal abuse, you can apply to waive the joint-filing requirement. In such a case, you do not have to wait to file your application for removal of conditions. You will still need to prove, however, that you did not intend to evade United States immigration laws in order to have the conditions lifted.
To learn more about conditional green cards and removal of conditions applications, contact our office. Call 508-388-2999 for a confidential consultation with a compassionate member of our team today.