What Is Removal of Conditions on a Green Card?

Removal of conditions on a green card is the process of converting a two-year conditional green card into a full ten-year permanent resident card. If your green card came through a recent marriage or through the EB-5 investor program, you have to petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to lift the conditions before your card expires. Miss that step and you lose permanent resident status entirely.¹

Who Has a Conditional Green Card

Two groups get conditional cards. The first is spouses whose marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident was less than two years old on the day they became a permanent resident.² The second is EB-5 investors, who obtained the card by investing in a U.S. commercial enterprise and creating at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying workers.³

The conditional period lasts exactly two years. During that window the card functions like any other green card, but it cannot be renewed. The only way forward is to file a petition to remove the conditions so USCIS can confirm the marriage was genuine or the investment and jobs held up.¹

Which Form to File and When

Marriage-based conditional residents file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. EB-5 investors file Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. Both share the same filing window: the 90 days immediately before the conditional card expires.¹ File before that window opens and USCIS may reject the petition.⁴

Form I-751 is normally a joint filing. Both you and the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse who originally petitioned for you need to sign.⁵ You can submit it online through your USCIS account or by mail to the USCIS Lockbox that serves your state.⁶ USCIS publishes a filing calculator to identify the exact date the 90-day window opens for you.

When You Can File Without Your Spouse

Filing jointly is not always possible, and USCIS lets you file Form I-751 alone under a waiver of the joint filing requirement. You can request a waiver if you entered the marriage in good faith and your petitioning spouse has died; if you entered in good faith and the marriage was terminated by divorce or annulment; if you or your conditional resident child was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse; or if being removed from the United States would cause you extreme hardship.⁷

If you qualify for a waiver, the 90-day window doesn’t apply. You can file at any point after receiving conditional resident status, which matters because divorce, abuse, and bereavement rarely line up with a two-year filing calendar.⁵

What to Send With the Petition

Marriage Cases

The whole point of an I-751 is showing that your marriage is real, so submit as much overlapping documentation as you can. Strong evidence includes:

Joint financial records: shared bank accounts with transaction history, joint tax returns, insurance policies listing the other spouse as beneficiary.
Shared housing: a lease or mortgage in both names, or utility bills at the same address.
Birth certificates of any children born during the marriage.
Sworn affidavits from at least two people who know you both personally and can speak to the relationship.
Photographs of the two of you together over time, at holidays, trips, or family events.

⁷

USCIS looks for a pattern over time, not a snapshot. Two years of shared financial activity is far more persuasive than a single recent joint statement. If you have gaps, say because your spouse was deployed or you lived apart for work, explain them directly rather than hoping USCIS won’t notice.

If your conditional resident children received status on the same day you did or within 90 days after, you can include them on your I-751 by listing their names and Alien Registration Numbers in Part 5 and attaching copies of their green cards. Children whose status began on a different date generally file their own petitions.⁷

Investor Cases

For Form I-829, the evidence points in a different direction. You have to show two things: that your investment stayed in place throughout the conditional period, and that it created or preserved the required jobs. Expect to submit audited financial statements, bank records, investment agreements, and tax returns for the sustained investment, and payroll records, tax documents, and similar proof that at least 10 full-time positions for qualifying U.S. workers were created or maintained.⁸

Any supporting document in a language other than English needs a certified English translation attached to a copy of the original.

Fees and Payment

The Form I-751 filing fee is $750, which covers biometrics.⁷ The Form I-829 fee was changed in November 2025 when USCIS reverted EB-5 petition fees to pre-April 2024 levels following a court order, so confirm the current amount on the USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) before filing.⁹

USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms. If you file by mail, pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or by ACH debit from a U.S. bank account using Form G-1650. Online filers pay through their USCIS account.¹⁰

What Happens After You File

USCIS mails a receipt notice (Form I-797C) once your petition is in the system. That receipt extends the validity of your conditional green card for 48 months past its printed expiration date, for both I-751 and I-829 filers.¹¹ Your expired card plus the receipt notice is your proof of continued lawful status for work and travel during that time.

You’ll also get a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center, where USCIS collects fingerprints, a photograph, and a digital signature for identity and background checks.⁵

Many petitions are approved without an interview, but USCIS can schedule one, especially in marriage cases where something in the file raises questions. If you’re interviewed, both spouses should attend. Processing times vary, but I-751 petitions have recently been taking roughly two to two and a half years from filing to decision.

If USCIS Asks for More Evidence

When USCIS decides your petition doesn’t contain enough documentation, it sends a Request for Evidence (RFE) rather than denying outright. Common triggers on marriage cases include thin evidence of a genuine marriage, an unexplained late filing, or derogatory information suggesting the marriage was entered into to get around immigration law.¹²

An RFE is not a denial. Respond by the stated deadline with the specific evidence USCIS asked for. If you filed late without an explanation, include a detailed written account of the circumstances that kept you from filing on time.

If the Petition Is Denied

A denial is serious. When USCIS denies a Form I-751, it also terminates your permanent resident status as of the date of the decision and is required by statute to issue a Notice to Appear, which begins removal proceedings in immigration court.¹³

You can’t appeal directly to USCIS, but you do have options:

File Form I-290B to ask USCIS to reopen or reconsider, if you have new evidence or believe the decision was legally incorrect.
File a new I-751 on a different basis, for example a waiver petition after a divorce.
Contest the denial during your removal proceedings in immigration court.

¹³

If You Miss the 90-Day Window

Missing the filing window has consequences that depend on which form applies. A marriage-based conditional resident who fails to file Form I-751 risks losing conditional status and becoming removable. For an EB-5 investor who doesn’t file Form I-829 on time, conditional status is automatically terminated on the second anniversary of the date it was granted, and the person becomes immediately removable.¹⁴

Late filing is still possible for both forms, but only if you include a written explanation showing your failure to file on time was for good cause and due to extenuating circumstances. USCIS decides at its discretion whether to accept the late filing.¹⁴

Life With a Pending Petition

Your expired conditional card plus the I-797C receipt notice is valid proof of permanent resident status for 48 months, and works for both employment verification and international travel. Present both documents to Customs and Border Protection when re-entering the United States.¹¹ If you’ll be outside the country for a year or more while the case is pending, apply for a reentry permit using Form I-131 before you leave, since a longer absence can be treated as abandonment of your status.

If you move, you have 10 days to tell USCIS. Update your address through your online USCIS account or by mailing Form AR-11.¹⁵ Decisions, interview notices, and RFEs go out by mail, and a missed notice can cost you the case.

Naturalizing While Your I-751 Is Pending

Because I-751 processing runs so long, some conditional residents become eligible for citizenship before their petition is decided. If you have been married to and living with a U.S. citizen for at least three years, you may file Form N-400 while the I-751 is still pending. USCIS can adjudicate both together, and in some cases decides the I-751 at the naturalization interview.¹⁶ Include a copy of the I-751 receipt with the N-400, and if your I-751 was filed jointly, bring your petitioning spouse to the naturalization interview.¹⁷ Conditional residents who are divorced from or no longer living with their U.S. citizen spouse don’t qualify for the three-year path and generally wait five years from the date they became a permanent resident.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Address for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-751, Instructions for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-829, Instructions for Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Mandate Electronic Payments for Applications
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Decision and Post-Adjudication
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Petition to Remove Conditions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Lawful Permanent Resident Admission for Naturalization
17
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. USCIS Processing of Concurrently Pending Forms N-400 and Forms I-751