Success story: I-751 granted with divorce and NO USCIS interview
Success story: I-751 granted with divorce and NO USCIS interview
Our client previously obtained her conditional residence through her US Citizen husband. Sadly, their marriage fell apart, and they went their separate ways.
However, even after her two-year conditional residence expired, she did not file the I-751 petition, and after more than a year had passed since the expiration of her conditional residence, she came to our office.
While it is true that if you are a conditional resident and divorced from your spouse, you are not subject to the requirement to file within 90 days of the conditional residence expiring. See 8 CFR Sec. 216.5. However, there is still a risk that USCIS will find out about your failure to file within 90 days and terminate your conditional residence.
If this happens, you will be placed in removal proceedings and forced to fight your case in immigration court (Read about our prior successful case HERE).
Furthermore, to qualify for the waiver of the I-751 joint petition filing by the married couple, USCIS requires proof of the final divorce judgment, not merely the divorce petition.
Our client, unfortunately, was still awaiting the final divorce judgment decree. To make the most of our time, we immediately began preparing a detailed packet with an explanation that the marriage she and her husband entered into was bona fide and honest. We further explained in detail why the marriage failed.
We then attached proof of our client’s positive equities to encourage USCIS to grant her case from a discretionary standpoint. Finally, once we received the final divorce decree, we prepared a cover letter arguing why she is entitled to have her I-751 petition adjudicated and granted based on the CFR regulations.
Her case remained pending for nearly two years; much to our pleasant surprise, USCIS granted her petition without issuing a Request for Evidence or an interview.
We are very happy for our client as she can now apply to become a naturalized US Citizen.
If you need guidance with your immigration status, please contact Kannan Law, immigration attorneys in San Diego, California.