CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement
APPLICANT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Somerset, NJ
Our client contacted our office in May of 2018 regarding I-751 application. She is from Kenya and she married a U.S. citizen in June 2015. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2016. Her conditional residency terminated in October 2018.
Unfortunately, during their marriage, our client and her ex-husband went through struggles. Therefore, they started to live separately and their divorce proceeding was initiated. Thus, our client could not proceed with the I-751 joint filing with her ex-husband. So we requested a waiver because our client entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was terminated through divorce or annulment before they can file a joint petition.
On June 7, 2018, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents (over 30 exhibits and an affidavit over 6 pages) to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with her ex-husband).
In July 2019, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE), requesting more bona fide marital evidence with her ex-husband. Our office prepared and filed the Response to RFE on July 15, 2019.
In January 2021, the USCIS scheduled an I-751 interview for our client. Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls about potential issues at the interview. On February 24, 2021, our client was interviewed for her I-751 application at the USCIS Mount Laurel, NJ Field Office. The interview was very extensive and the officer questioned her a lot about the nature of her marriage with her ex-husband. Nevertheless, the USCIS approved her I-751 application on February 25, 2021. Now, she has her ten-year green card.