I-751 Removal of Conditions: Joint Filing, Death of a Spouse, and Three Types of Waivers

01

The General Rule of Joint Filing

A person who obtained conditional status through marriage generally files Form I-751 jointly with the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse during the 90 days before the conditional green card expires. If joint filing is not possible, a waiver of the joint filing requirement may be requested under the officially specified circumstances.

02

Three Grounds for a Waiver

The Policy Manual lists: (1) removal would result in extreme hardship; (2) the marriage was entered into in good faith but terminated for reasons other than the spouse’s death (such as divorce or annulment); and (3) the marriage was entered into in good faith, but during the marriage the petitioning spouse subjected the conditional resident or their child to battery or extreme cruelty (children have separate corresponding grounds). The applicant should select all applicable grounds on Form I-751 and may subsequently change or add grounds in writing.

Except for requests based solely on extreme hardship, all waiver requests require proof that the marriage was not entered into to evade immigration laws.

03

When a Waiver May Be Filed

A waiver request may be filed before, during, or after the 90-day window; a person in removal proceedings may file only before the immigration judge issues a final order of removal.

04

Death of a Spouse: Individual Filing, Not a Waiver

If the petitioning spouse dies after the conditional resident obtains status, the joint filing requirement is excused; the Policy Manual calls this an “individual filing request,” not a waiver. If the spouse dies after joint filing while adjudication is pending, USCIS should be notified and a death certificate provided.

05

The I-751 Abuse Waiver ≠ a VAWA Self-Petition

The I-751 abuse waiver removes conditions for people who are “already conditional permanent residents”; a VAWA self-petition (Form I-360), by contrast, allows people who have not yet obtained permanent resident status and would otherwise depend on an abusive relative’s petition to independently obtain an immigrant classification. The forms, covered populations, and legal bases differ, and the two cannot substitute for each other.