Buffalo: (716) 970-4007 | Toronto: (866) 697-1832
Buffalo: (716) 970-4007 | Toronto: (866) 697-1832
Canadian Visitor to US Citizen in 4 Years! One of the most common scenarios we see practicing US immigration law on the northern border with Canada is for visitors that enter the United States and marry US citizens. We recently helped a client complete the journey of entering the United States as a visitor, marriage to a US Citizen, and eventually US citizenship. Read their US Immigration story here.
If you received your green card through marriage to a US Citizen within the first 2 years of your marriage, you will receive a conditional 2-year green card. At the end of the 2-year green card, you must file USCIS Form I-751 Removal of Conditions to receive a 10-year permanent green card. Unfortunately, sometimes marriages end in divorce and the foreign national spouse is left to file USCIS Form I-751 on their own merits. With a divorce, the process can get messy. We have helped many individuals obtain a permanent 10-year green card after divorce and even a Notice of Intent to Terminate.
Effective immediately, USCIS will use a risk-based approach to determine which Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence will require an interview. This update replaces previous agency guidance that required all CPRs to undergo an interview if they obtained conditional resident status through consular processing. We discuss this update below.
If you are a conditional permanent resident who obtained status through marriage, you will want to apply to remove the conditions on your permanent resident status; or you risk losing your lawful status.