Your green card is conditional: when to file the I-751

What this is

A green card granted through marriage can be conditional, and conditional status expires. Form I-751 is the petition that removes those conditions. Which deadline applies to you depends on how you file: jointly with the spouse you married, or on your own with a request to waive the joint filing requirement. USCIS states that a joint petition filed before its window opens may be rejected, so the date the window opens matters as much as the date it closes.

Source: uscis.gov

What you need

• Form I-751 removes conditions on your permanent resident status granted through marriage.
• Joint filers with a spouse must file during the 90-day period immediately before conditional residence expires — not before that window opens.
• Children filing separately with a stepparent can file any time before status expires.
• Solo filers requesting a waiver can file any time before status expires.
• Waiver reasons include: extreme hardship, spouse or stepparent died, marriage ended in annulment or divorce, you or your child were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage.
• You can file online (requires creating an account) or by mail.
• Foreign-language documents must include a full English translation with a certification from the translator.
• Do not send original documents unless the instructions specifically ask for them.

Source: uscis.gov

What to do

• Find the first day of your 90-day filing window using the USCIS "When to File Your Petition to Remove Conditions" page before submitting.
• File Form I-751 jointly with your spouse during the 90-day period before your conditional residence expires (if filing jointly).
• If filing with a waiver or as a child with a stepparent, file any time before your conditional residence expires.
• Check the USCIS Fee Schedule page for the current filing fee.
• If filing online, create a USCIS account first.
• If filing by mail, check the USCIS "Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-751" page for the correct mailing address.
• Include copies (not originals) of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card.
• Include evidence that your marriage was entered in good faith, covering the period from the marriage date to the present.
• Include copies of Permanent Resident Cards for any conditional resident children you are adding to the petition.
• If filing late, include a written explanation for the delay.
• If you have any criminal charges, arrests, or convictions, include the disposition documents.
• Provide a full English translation and translator certification for any foreign-language documents.

Source: uscis.gov

If the 90 days have already passed

A late joint petition is not automatically refused. USCIS decides whether the failure to file on time was based on good cause and extenuating circumstances, so the explanation and any supporting documents should go in with the petition itself rather than waiting to be asked for them. The Policy Manual lists examples and says the list is not exhaustive: hospitalization, long-term illness, the death of a family member and bereavement, the recent birth of a child, legal or financial problems, providing care for someone, a serious family emergency, a work commitment, or a family member on active duty with the U.S. armed forces. It also says plainly that forgetting to file, on its own, generally does not count. Where USCIS accepts the explanation it goes on to decide the petition; where it does not, it denies the petition for failure to comply with the filing requirements.

Source: uscis.gov

The interview, and who has to attend it

You must appear for an interview at a USCIS field office unless USCIS waives that requirement. An officer may consider waiving it where the record already holds enough evidence about the marriage, where there is enough evidence of eligibility for a waiver of joint filing if one applies, where there is no indication of fraud or misrepresentation, where there are no complex facts or issues needing an interview to resolve, and where there are no criminal bars. For a joint petition the statute requires USCIS to interview both the conditional resident and the petitioning spouse; where you filed individually or with a waiver, only you must appear. If a required person does not appear, USCIS denies the petition, terminates conditional resident status and begins removal proceedings — unless good cause for not appearing is established and the interview is rescheduled. The standard applied throughout is preponderance of the evidence, decided on the form, the documents, anything else in the record, and testimony at the interview if there is one.

Source: uscis.gov

If you have also applied to naturalize

The two forms move at different speeds, so it is common to apply for naturalization while an I-751 is still pending. USCIS states that where a Form N-400 is pending it adjudicates the Form I-751 before, or at the same time as, the N-400. In most cases the I-751 must be approved before USCIS may naturalize you. The Policy Manual notes there are limited circumstances in which a conditional resident is not required to file an I-751 before naturalizing — a question to put to the officer, or to somebody licensed to advise you, rather than to assume either way.

Source: uscis.gov