LOS ANGELES I-751 ATTORNEY

Immigrants who received their green cards through marriage who at the time of approval were married less than two years must apply to remove the conditions on their status.  

 

Joint Petitions

To apply for removal of conditional status, immigrant spouses must normally file joint petitions with their U.S. citizen/lawful permanent resident spouse and prove the ongoing existence and good faith nature of the marriage. 

 

Waiver Petitions

The law includes waivers of the joint filing requirement under certain circumstances, where the marriage was entered into good faith but legitimately terminated before the end of the conditional period, or where the applicant would suffer extreme hardship if he or she was forced to return to his or home country.

 

Additionally there is a special waiver specifically addressing the dangers experienced by battered immigrants.  A battered immigrant may apply for a waiver of the joint petition requirement and file his or her own I-751 

petition. This may enable the battered immigrant to leave the abusive relationship without having to rely on the abusive U.S. citizen/lawful permanent resident spouse.

 

Eligibility Requirements for I-751 Waiver Petitions:
 

• In order to apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement, the immigrant spouse holding conditional resident status must provide evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith, and not for fraudulent immigration purposes.

• The conditional resident must also prove s/he falls into one of the following categories, providing corresponding evidence as appropriate:

• The removal of the conditional resident from the United States would result in extreme hardship; or,

• The good faith marriage was legally terminated by divorce, or death of U.S. citizen spouse; or,

• The conditional resident was subjected to battering or extreme cruelty by the U.S. citizen spouse/lawful permanent resident during the course of the marriage.  In the case of a child applicant, the battery or extreme cruelty must have occurred at the hands of her U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent.

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