Learning About the U.S. Immigration System: Conditional Permanent Residence

Tim and Lei Mei were married on January 1, 2008 at a beautiful New Year’s Eve service in Beijing, China. Tim and Lei Mei had been dating for three years and were extremely excited to be getting married. After their marriage, Tim and Lei Mei moved to Boston, Massachusetts and Tim petitioned for Lei Mei to become a Legal Permanent Resident, otherwise known as a Green Card holder. On March 15, 2009, Lei Mei’s Green Card was approved. However, Lei Mei is confused because her Green Card describes her as a Conditional Permanent Resident.

If you are a person that immigrated to the United States through a marriage that was less than 2 years old when you received your green card, then you received your green card on a conditional basis. In other words, you are known as a conditional permanent resident. This conditional status lasts for 2 years after your green card was granted. After those two years, you can request that the government change your immigration status from a Conditional Permanent Resident to a Lawful Permanent Resident.

But what happens if Lei Mei and Tim divorce before the end of those 2 years while Lei Mei is still in the United States as a conditional permanent resident? Will Lei Mei lose her green card?

Usually, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) requires that a spouse granted conditional permanent residence file to remove the conditional residence jointly with his or her spouse. However, there is an exception for a person that has been divorced before filing to remove his or her conditional residence.

If you are a conditional permanent resident and you are divorced, then you may file an I-751 petition without the help of your ex-spouse to remove your conditional residence if you can show that you entered into your marriage in good faith and that the marriage has legally been terminated. Therefore, if you can show that you and your former spouse had a real marriage and that you have obtained a legal divorce, then you can file an I-751 petition by yourself. Similarly, children of divorced parents can also file an I-751 petition by themselves if they can show that their parents entered into a good faith marriage and that they were legally divorced.

To show that you entered into a good faith marriage, you should submit as many documents as possible with the I-751 petition to show that you had a real marriage. Documents such as joint bank account statements, a lease or mortgage with both your name and your ex-spouse’s name on it, and birth certificates of any children than you had together are helpful in showing a valid marriage.

Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3721 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.