What to know as a conditional permanent resident?

When a foreign national marries a United States citizen but they have been married for under two years time, the foreign national will be considered a conditional permanent resident. It is important that conditional permanent residents file to remove the conditions on their residence 90 days before their two-year marital anniversary in order not to lose your status as a permanent resident.

If you hold conditional permanent resident status and wish to remove your conditions, you will be required to fall under certain eligibility criteria. These eligibility requirements can include staying married to your spouse who is a U.S. citizen for longer than two years or if your marriage ended but you entered the marriage in good faith but your spouse passed away, you got divorced, or you were abused by your U.S. citizen spouse.

In order to remove the conditions, you will be required to file Form I-751 90 days before your two year anniversary. If you fail to do so during that 90-day time period, you may lose your Green Card and you may be removed from the United States. Therefore, it is imperative to be aware of the deadlines and dates that can have a major impact on your life.

If you have children that are also conditional residents, you may be able to include them on your condition removal application as long as they received CR status no more than 90 days after you did. However, if your child became a conditional residence more than 90 days after you, they will have to have a separate application to have their conditions removed. In order to keep your family together, please remain aware of the dates of each member’s Green Card expiration date.

If you are in need of experienced legal counsel for matters regarding immigration, please contact the Law Offices of Salvatore A. Falletta, LLC and we would be happy to provide you with assistance.