I heard that if I received my green card through marriage for less than two years, that I may have to reapply for the green card.
No, you won’t be required to re-apply, but you will have to go through a more involved renewal process called Removal of Conditions.
What are the conditions and what is the Removal of Conditions process?
When the marriage based green card is approved based on a marriage that existed for two years or less, the green card granted is called a Conditional Permanent Resident Card or a Conditional Green Card. The condition is that when compared with a normal green card which is approved for 10 years, the Conditional Green Card is approved for only two years. The purpose of this is for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service or USCIS to check on the newer marriage to make sure it is a real marriage since historically, there have been marriage-based cases that were filed by couples for the purpose of obtaining the green card when the marriage was not real.
When a Conditional Green Card is received, this green card will have all the rights and benefits of a regular ten-year green card except for the duration and manner of renewal. The Removal of Conditions Application will require the couple to file the form I-751 and provide the same documentary evidence that was provided with the original green card application demonstrating that the marriage is real or bona fide. This type of evidence would be any documentation showing that the couple is living together as well as demonstrating that the couple is sharing financial benefits and obligations. The evidence will be dated after the approval of the Conditional Green Card to demonstrate that the couple continued to live together as a married couple after approval of the Conditional Green Card.
The form I-751 is to be filed within the time of 90 days before the two-year expiration mark of the Conditional Green Card. After the application is filed with supporting documents, USCIS will review the application and eventually schedule the case for an interview with the couple to allow the examining officer to clarify any doubts about the marriage by further questioning the couple about the details of the relationship. If all goes well, USCIS will approve the application and then issue the regular ten-year green card.
You can contact us if you have questions regarding any type of green card process including the Removal of Conditions application process. We have discussed the application process for a green card through the adjustment of status process here. We have discussed the application process for a green card through consular processing here.