CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement
APPLICANT: Filipino
LOCATION: San Jose, CA
Our client contacted our office in late January 2021 regarding his potential I-751 filing. He is from the Philippines and he married a U.S. citizen in June 2018. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in January 2020. Therefore, his conditional residency terminated in January 2022.
Unfortunately, during their marriage, our client and his ex-spouse went through struggles. Our client was abused. They lived separately for a while as their divorce was ongoing. Thus, our client could not file I-751 application jointly with his ex-spouse. After consultation, we advised that we can help him file the I-751 application with a waiver of the joint filing requirement. We requested a waiver because our client entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage will be terminated through divorce or annulment before they can file a joint petition. We also included the spousal abuse category in this waiver request.
On February 5, 2021, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with his ex-spouse. However, on February 18, 2022, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit additional bona fide marital evidence with his ex-spouse. Our office filed the Response to RFE on July 8, 2022. Eventually, on September 19, 2022, the USCIS approved our request for the removal of conditions on his permanent resident status without even an interview. Now, he has his ten-year green card.