I-751 & I-751 Waivers

I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

If you were granted conditional residence and received a two (2) year green card based on your marriage to a U.S. citizen (USC) or legal permanent resident (LPR), you must file USCIS Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence proving that you entered your marriage in good faith, and not to gain an immigration benefit. Filing of the I-751 petition allows you to receive your 10-year permanent resident card.

Conditional residents who are still married to the same spouse, through which they gained conditional residence, must file the I-751 petition jointly with their spouse.
If your marriage has ended in divorce, the death of your spouse, annulment, or other factors as described below, you can request an I-751 waiver of the joint filing requirement.

Although the burden of proof lies on the conditional resident for I-751 waivers, the criteria of establishing that the marriage was bona fide and entered in good faith remain the same regardless of whether you are filing the petition jointly with your spouse or solo. The conditional resident should be prepared to provide documented evidence of good faith marriage.

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If you are filing a joint petition I-751 the following must be submitted:

Evidence of the relationship:
- Submit copies of documents indicating that the marriage upon which you were granted status was entered in good faith and was not for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date;
- This includes joint rental lease agreements, joint bank account statements, joint income tax returns, joint utility bills and other indicia of a common residence, photographs taken together
An explanation for reason you are filing late (if applicable);
Dispositions on criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable).

If you are filing a waiver of the joint filing requirement due to a termination of marriage other than through death of the petitioning spouse or stepparent, the following must be submitted:

Evidence of the relationship:
- Submit copies of documents indicating that the marriage upon which you were granted status was entered in good faith and was not for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage until the marriage terminated;

- This includes joint rental lease agreements, joint bank account statements, joint income tax returns, joint utility bills and other indicia of a common residence, photographs taken together

The final divorce or annulment decree. If it has not been issued, you may submit it later, as long as it is completed by the time of the adjudication of your application. USCIS usually allows an additional 87 days for it to be completed.
Evidence demonstrating any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship;
Dispositions on criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable); and

If you are filing a waiver of the joint filing requirement because you and/or your conditional resident child were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty, the following must be submitted:

With respect to abuse waivers, you may file your form with any credible evidence relevant to the application. The determination of what evidence is credible and the weight to be given (meaning how important the evidence is)is within the adjudicator’s sole discretion.

Evidence of the relationship (see above):
- Submit copies of documents indicating that the marriage upon which you were granted status was entered in good faith and was not for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date;

- This includes joint rental lease agreements, joint bank account statements, joint income tax returns, joint utility bills and other indicia of a common residence and co-mingling of financial assets or liabilities, photographs taken together

Evidence of abuse: this could include your declaration, hospital records, police reports, court records, declarations of witnesses, photographs, counseling records.
The final divorce or annulment decree if your marriage was terminated by divorce on grounds of physical abuse or extreme cruelty;
Dispositions on criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable).

If you are filing a waiver of the joint filing requirement because the termination of your status and removal would result in extreme hardship, you must provide the following:

Copies of the front and back of the Permanent Resident Cards of any conditional resident children you are including in your petition (if applicable);
Evidence of extreme hardship to yourself or others if you were to have to depart the United States. You must submit evidence that your removal would result in hardship significantly greater than the hardship encountered by other foreign nationals who are removed from this country after extended stays. The evidence must relate only to those factors that arose during the two-year period for which you were admitted as a conditional resident. For a discussion of extreme hardship, please visit this website Extreme hardship is defined on our page regarding I-601A Waivers.
Dispositions on criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable).

If you are filing an individual request because of the death of the petitioning spouse or stepparent, the following must be submitted:

Evidence of the relationship:
- Submit copies of documents indicating that the marriage upon which you were granted status was entered in good faith and was not for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the date of your spouse's or stepparent's death;

- This includes joint rental lease agreements, joint bank account statements, joint income tax returns, joint utility bills and other indicia of a common residence and co-mingling of financial assets or liabilities, photographs taken together

Your spouse’s or stepparent's death certificate;
Dispositions on criminal charges, arrests, or convictions (if applicable).