If you have a 10-year green card, then a divorce is not necessarily going to affect your legal permanent resident status. The renewal would continue through the Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card and this form doesn’t include questions regarding your marriage status.
However, if you applied or obtained your green card through conditional marriage to a U.S. Citizen, then your Visa and/or application may be at risk.
How Does Getting A Divorce Affect My Conditional Residency Status?
Firstly, after a divorce, and if you were granted a conditional Green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen, USCIS will issue a two-year conditional green card. This two-year period allows USCIS time to evaluate the bona fides of the marriage. Their interest is in ascertaining if the marriage was truly genuine and was originally entered in good faith. If they deem it so, then both you and your ex-spouse would still be required to file a Joint petition, Form-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence, along with evidence to prove the marriage was initially in good faith. Failure to prove the bona fides of the marriage to USCIS may warrant a cancellation of your resident status and may trigger a deportation process.
Each case is unique, if you have questions regarding the specifics of your situation, contact Attorney Eric Price and we can help guide you. Our first consultation is completely free so you can feel at ease in reaching out and setting an appointment with us to answer all of your questions.
How A Divorce Can Alter Your Conditional Status
Once the probationary period is concluded, and if the Form-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence, has concluded successfully, this means your Green Card is no longer a conditional Visa based on your marriage. You’re now granted residency status entirely on your own merits and are not held to other conditions upon it.
Additional situations regarding your Green Card approval process may arise with a divorce. For example:
– Divorce After Your Form I-130 Was Approved, but before you get your physical Green Card
Whether your visa petition on Form I-130 was approved or you’ve only submitted the application for a green card or immigrant visa, it means the immigration process just began and no rights to remain in the United States have been given to you. So if your divorce is finalized during this stage of the process, your bid to obtain a green card or immigrant visa also ends. You would not be granted a Green Card Visa.
– Divorce After You Have Been Approved for Conditional Residence
If you were approved for conditional residence upon applying for a green card (such as through marriage), you need to show USCIS that your marriage began legitimately and in good faith prior to the divorce. Conditional residence is given to those whose marriage was less than two years old at the date the green card was approved.
After your approval date, USCIS will review your marriage in two years. You must also submit Form I-751, which removes the conditions of your current residence in order to approve you for permanent residence.
However, Form I-751 is considered a joint petition that is signed by both spouses, informing immigration authorities that the marriage is legitimate and still thriving. In the event of a divorce, you alone must submit the petition and request that the joint filing requirement is waived. This needs to be done by providing USCIS with evidence (i.e. joint bank and credit card accounts, copies of mortgage and rental agreements, birth certificates of children, etc.) that the marriage began as a valid union. Only use recent documents. Do not use the evidence you have sent to immigration officials before.
Contact Attorney Eric Price Today!
Attorney Eric Price and his team are immigration law experts. They keep up with changing immigration laws and policies and bring their clients the most accurate and up-to-date information in order to build the strongest cases and solidify their futures in America. If you’d like to learn more about how Attorney Eric Price can help you claim your piece of the American Dream, contact him today.
