When you get your ‘green card’, it will probably have an expiration date on it. What does that mean to you? EVERYTHING!! After that date, you will be out of status and can be legally removed from the United States! On the other hand, our USCIS is routinely taking up to 48 months to adjudicate the form to remove the conditions, so your green card could expire many months before you get one with the conditions removed. Our advice? File your form I 751 as soon as you can, and carry that receipt to prove that you filed it at all times.
You can file form I-751 up to 90 days before your conditional green card expires. Mark that date in your calendar, and file as soon as you can!! You can file this form yourself, or have us do it for you. Either way, it must be accompanied by acceptable evidence that this is a real marriage. At the time of this writing, it will cost you $750.00 to file with the United States Immigration Service (“USCIS”) by mail/hardcopy. (Legal fees for attorney assistance are additional.) You will be required to pay the USCIS by credit card or ACH form. If you are no longer married to the person with whom you applied as an immediate relative, or if that person is deceased, you may still be able to file for removal of conditions. Often stepchildren may file concurrently with their biological parent. Check with an immigration attorney about the details of your particular situation.
Does removal of conditions make me a U.S. citizen? No, it does not. Without the conditions your LPR status is valid for 10 years, but not longer than that. You will need to re-apply and follow certain rules to retain your LPR status.
Call us if you do not wish to apply for the removal of your conditions alone. We can help you.