Who should file USCIS Form I 751?
Persons who are eligible and who apply for permanent residence 00004000 based on either a recent marriage to a U.S. citizen or through investment are granted permanent residence on a conditional basis and it is for two years. The expiry date of the conditional period is two years from the date of approval. The immigrant status is CR (conditional resident).
Form I-751 petition to remove the conditions on residence:
USCIS Form I-751 is filed by a conditional resident who obtained status through marriage to apply to remove the conditions on his / her residence. When the two year conditional period is over, the permanent residence expires and the applicant will be subject to deportation and removal from the United States. So to avoid this, the applicant should file USCIS Form I-751, Petition to remove conditions on residence 90 days or less before the conditional residence expires.
After the USCIS form I-751 is submitted to the USCIS, permanent residence will be extended for one year intervals till the request to remove conditions is approved or denied. The application should provide both general and specific supporting evidence that the basis on which the applicant obtained conditional permanent residence was not against the US immigration laws. If the application is based on marriage, birth certificates of children, certain joint financial statements, and letters from employers, friends and relatives are some of the evidence that the applicant should submit.
Under a situation where you are still married, the application should be filed jointly by you and your spouse through whom you obtained the conditional status. However, you can apply for a waiver of this joint filing if you entered the marriage in good faith and your spouse died subsequently. Also if you entered the marriage in good faith and the marriage was terminated because of divorce or annulment. Additionally, you can apply for this waiver even if you entered the marriage in good faith and remain married, but have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or if the termination of your status and removal would lead to extreme hardship.
If you are filing this petition jointly with your spouse, you should file it during the 90 days immediately before the second anniversary of the date you received the conditional resident status. This is the date your conditional residence expires.
You can file this petition at any time after you were granted conditional resident status and before you are removed. If you do not file this petition, you will lose your permanent resident status as on the second anniversary of the date when you were granted the conditional status. Then you can become removable from the United States. If non-filing was through no fault of your own, you can apply later with a written explanation and request for an excuse for filing late.
