USCIS Changes Procedures for Adjudicating I-751 Applications Where a Divorce is Pending but not Finalized

USCIS Acting Associate Direct Donald Neufeld issued a memorandum which offers guidance to field offices on how to process certain I-751 applications to remove conditions.  The I-751 presents a difficult situation for couples who married in good faith but are separated or undergoing divorce proceedings prior to the filing of the I-751.  The form only allows for joint applications if the couple is still married, unless the applicant can establish that he or she was battered by the petitioning spouse.  In that situation, the applicant may request a waiver of the joint filing requirement.  An applicant who is estranged (but not yet divorced) from his or her spouse would normally be out of luck because although the form requires a signature from the petitioning spouse, often times that spouse would refuse to cooperate in the process.  The applicant would be at the tender mercies of both his or her uncooperative spouse and the rigid rules of the I-751 application.  Although the applicant married in good faith, he or she faces losing permanent residence status because he or she is ineligible to file the I-751 without the signature of the spouse.   

The memorandum containing the new guidelines seeks to address this particular situation.   The memorandum does not make any changes to the I-751 form itself, but does alter the manner in which USCIS would adjudicate I-751 applications in situations where there is a separation, but a divorce is not yet finalized.  Essentially, USCIS would give the spouse an opportunity to obtain a divorce before the I-751 application is fully adjudicated.  It’s not the perfect solution, but it does suggest that USCIS is at least responsive to an issue that has plagued many immigrants who are in troubled (but not abusive) marriages.

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