QUESTION
Am I supposed to remove my conditional green card status?
Asked on Jun 20th, 2012 on Immigration - California
More details to this question:
Am I supposed to remove my conditional green card status next month. Presently am attending school at New orleans and my husband is in Atlanta. I visit once in a month, would our temporary separation create a problem? Am attending a professional school (occuaptional therapy assistant school). New orleans is where I got admission.
9 ANSWERS
Immigration Law Attorney serving Long Beach, CA
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Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner
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*Petition to Remove the Conditional Residency* While the Green Card has already been received, it is necessary to file what is known as the Petition to Remove the Conditional Residency. If this is not properly filed within 90 days before the expiration of the Conditional Green Card, the status will be automatically terminated. My office can file everything necessary to show that the marriage was bona-fide and that the USCIS should remove the condition in order to issue the permanent lawful permanent residency card. Please note that in some cases, even though the spouse does not want to help file the petition to remove the conditional residency, or there has been a divorce, it is still possible to get the Petition to Remove the Conditional Residency filed. The separation could present an issue of concern.
Answered on Jul 06th, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Rebecca T White
You will want to very carefully document your marital relationship when making the filing.
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Thomas J. Rosser
Yes, within 90 days PRIOR to the second anniversary of your conditional green card status you are required to file for removal of the conditional status. To fail to do so invalidates your LPR status so it is important to do so with the appropriate supporting documents prior to the expiration of your current green card. You may wish to consult an experienced immigration attorney to handle that process on your behalf. Your temporary physical separation from your USC spouse should not be a problem, although he will need to sign the necessary petition filings prior to presenting them to USCIS.
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2012 at 3:28 PM
Immigration & Naturalization Attorney serving Olympia, WA
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Seifert Law Offices PLLC
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You must take action to remove the condition on your 2 year green card. You have to file the form I-751, and it does not matter where your husband is... tell the truth on the form... and since you do not live together it would be a very good idea for you to get some good advice from an immigration lawyer before you file the form. If you do not file the form in time, your status will be terminated automatically.
Answered on Jun 29th, 2012 at 11:04 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Alhambra, CA
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Francis John Cowhig
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You will need to file paperwork to have the condition removed prior to the 2 year anniversary of your green card. The separation between you and your husband probably will raise questions with the USCIS. However, if you have documentation regarding your marriage and proof that you are still legally and validly married, you should not have any problems. I strongly suggest that you contact an experienced immigration attorney, either in New Orleans or Atlanta, for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your case and separation. He/she would then be in a better position to analyze you case and advise you of your options. Good Luck.
Answered on Jun 29th, 2012 at 10:41 PM
When a couple remains married but for understandable reasons must live in separate cities, a joint Petition to Remove Condition timely must be filed, and it should be accompanied by a very comprehensive and persuasive set of documents that will demonstrate that the couple remains in a bona fide marriage notwithstanding that they live apart. Such information might include, for example, documentary evidence of trips to be with each other, telephone records, email records, evidence of enrollment in graduate school, etc. This is all in addition to the conventional types of documents that demonstrate the couple have a bona fide marriage, such as records showing the couple has put their financial lives together, evidence of having children together, insurance documents, tax documents, etc. It would be wise to engage an immigration attorney to assess all of the facts and circumstances and to advise about the best documents to supply for these purposes. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.
Answered on Jun 29th, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Immigration Attorney serving Arlington, TX
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Law Office of Pho Ethan Tran, PLLC
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Yes. You should file your joint petition before your status expires. Your physical separation will probably raise some questions, so you should explain to them in your cover letter why you are living apart temporarily and that you have the intention to move back in together after school.
Answered on Jun 29th, 2012 at 11:33 AM
2 Awards
No. You should be fine.
Answered on Jun 29th, 2012 at 9:55 AM
As long as you provide sufficient documentation about how your marriage is bona fide, the fact that you are living in different places should not matter. However, the burden of proof is upon you to show that and the more and stronger the evidence, the better.
Answered on Jun 28th, 2012 at 8:49 PM