Menu
Menu
Menu
Home | Immigration Law | I-751 FORM
If you received your green card by applying to the green card through marriage process (formally known as Adjustment of Status), and your marriage was less than 2 years when your green card was approved, what you received is a conditional green card, known as CR1 visa (Conditional Permanent Residency). The conditional green card is valid for only 2 years. After this period, if you wish to remain as a permanent resident in the U.S. you need to remove the conditions of your green card. This is done by submitting the I -751 form petition to remove conditions on residence. If you successfully submit this form and it gets approved, then you will move from the conditional permanent resident status to the permanent resident status, and your green card will be valid for 10 years.
Filing for permanent residency can be a difficult and confusing process, and with so much at stake, it is essential for couples to seek the counsel of an experienced immigration attorney. To ensure that your I-751 petition is approved, you must submit specific documentation and evidence that the marriage is not intended to circumvent immigration laws. At Garcia & Phan, our attorneys are committed to assisting married couples, including same-sex couples, with the process of obtaining permanent residency in the United States. Please feel free to contact us at
(714) 868-8250 to discuss the best course of action, including a document review, for your specific situation.
The purpose of form I-751 is to demonstrate to USCIS officers that your marriage is bonafide, also known as a legitimate marriage. This proceeding aims to prevent issuing green cards to applicants who entered into fraudulent marriages solely to obtain immigration benefits. When filing the I-751 form, you must remember that it is intended to be a “joint filing” process, meaning that you and your spouse must file together. If you cannot file jointly with your U.S. citizen spouse due to a divorce, you can still apply for an I-751 waiver to remove the conditions on your residency and obtain a 10-year green card. The I-751 waiver may also be an option if the U.S. citizen has died, if evidence of an abusive marriage exists, or if putting the applicant into removal proceedings would cause them extreme hardship. If any of these apply to you, please refer to I-751 Waiver for more information.
In addition to other factors, the timeline and USCIS processing time for form I-751 depend on whether the application was filed jointly or with a waiver. Currently, the processing time for petitions to remove conditions on residence (I-751) filed jointly at the California Service Center is between 15 and 19 months.
USCIS filing fees for the I-751 form are $595. Additionally, there is an $85 fee for the biometrics appointment.
The direct filing address for the Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, is:
For U.S. Postal Service (USPS): USCIS
P.O. Box 21200
Phoenix, AZ 85036
For FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries: USCIS
Attn: I-751
1820 E. Skyharbor Circle S
Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Garcia & Phan Firm publishes this website as a service to our clients and friends for general informational purposes only. These materials do not and are not intended to constitute legal advice. You should not act upon any such information without seeing professional counsel. These materials may be considered advertising in your state. The information provided on the web is not privileged and does not create an attorney-client relationship with the Garcia & Phan Law Firm or any of the firm’s lawyers. The principal office of the Garcia & Phan Law Firm is located in Huntington Beach, California. Its attorneys are licensed to practice law in California. The firm does not intend to practice law in any jurisdictions where the firm is not licensed.
