Petition to Remove Conditions

There are eligibility requirements to remove the conditions on permanent residence. In order for your petition to be successful after you have been a conditional permanent resident for two years you must ordinarily still be married to the same U.S. citizen or permanent resident who sponsored your original petition. You will need to be able to show that you are still in a “bona fide” marriage and that you entered into the marriage in good faith. Quite a few people worry about this requirement because marriages don’t always work out the way you want them to. Death, divorce happen and have further reaching consequences for conditional residents. But you can still petition to remove the condition if you are a widow or widower, entered into the marriage in good faith but got an annulment or divorce, or you or your child were the victim of abuse or extreme hardship.

Normally, a petition to remove conditions has to be “joint.” This means that your spouse has to sign off on the petition and participate in the filing. But if you have divorced or were the victim of domestic abuse or cruelty and you entered into your marriage in good faith, you may file an application to waive the requirement that your spouse join you in your petition to remove conditions on residence. You will need an experienced immigration attorney to help you apply for this waiver as it can be a complicated and tedious process.