The ULTIMATE Guide To The I-751 Divorce Waiver!

Welcome to the ultimate guide for filing your I-751 divorce waiver.

If you have a two-year conditional green card and your marriage is starting to fall apart, is there any hope left for you to get your 10-year green card without the help of your spouse? Or are you going to lose your status and get kicked out of this country?

The good news is that being in a bad marriage is not necessarily a deal breaker to USCIS, and it does not need to be a total obstacle to getting your 10-year green card. There is one option that many people who get divorced can use and that is called the I-751 divorce waiver.

So in this video, I am going to explain what exactly is an I-751 divorce waiver, the requirements to apply, how to actually prepare and file the divorce waiver, when you should submit the divorce waiver, what sort of evidence you will need in order to get approved, how long it will take for USCIS to process your case, plus a lot more.

And as a bonus, at the end of this video, I'll explain how you can actually apply for the waiver, even if you don't get a divorce from your spouse and even if you never filed for divorce. So stay tuned.

First of all, what is an I-751 divorce waiver?

What is an I-751 Divorce Waiver?

If you're a conditional green card and you get divorced before securing your 10-year residency card, then you are no longer eligible to apply for the I-751 with the help of your spouse.

Instead, you will need to file the I-751 divorce waiver, which performs the same thing as an I-751 filed jointly with your spouse, but instead this time because your marriage has been legally terminated, you file without them with proof of the termination.

You will submit your waiver along with the same type of good faith, bonafide marriage evidence that you would submit had you been filing with your spouse, as well as a copy of the final divorce decree or decree of annulment.

To prove that your marriage has ended, note that unlike your typical I-751 joint application, you do not need to wait 90 days before the expiration date in order to file, but rather you can file this divorce waiver anytime, even if your card is yet to expire or even if it has already expired.

In fact, it's actually very important that you don't wait until your card actually expires just to submit your divorce waiver application. You should submit this application as soon as you obtain your divorce decree, which we'll discuss in just a moment.

When you do file, you'll want to include all the same documents that you would include normally with your I-751 joint application, including:

- A completed Form I-751 petition

- The proper USCIS filing fee

- A front and back copy of your permanent resident card

- Evidence of your good faith marriage

In addition, when filing this divorce waiver, you will also want to include a copy of the final divorce decree or annulment document and evidence explaining the circumstances around the termination of your marriage.

It's super important to understand that USCIS will not accept or approve your I-751 application if you have only just filed for divorce. Rather, you must have a final judgment of termination of your marriage in order to submit this application.

If you do not include a copy of your divorce certificate because it's not yet final, then USCIS will certainly submit a request for evidence in your case, and you will only have 87 days in order to provide this divorce decree.

If you cannot supply the divorce decree within the deadline, then your case will get denied, and you will likely be placed into removal proceedings, which is a place that you don't want to be in. So please keep this rule in mind.

When Should You File for a Waiver?

Now that we know what the I-751 divorce waiver is, when is the right time to file it? Well, that depends on your situation.

As I just mentioned, if you have already gotten your divorce decree, the right time to submit it is as soon as you get your divorce decree.

This is not only because filing promptly increases the credibility in your case in the eyes of USCIS, but also because documents and memories that you will need to support your case may not be available if you wait longer to file your application. The longer you wait to file, the more you risk losing supporting evidence and your recollection of events.

If on the other hand, you are only separated but not yet divorced, but you know that your spouse will refuse to file the I-75 with you, you may have a couple of options:

Number one: If there is still enough time between now and when your conditional card will expire, you may have enough time to get your divorce finalized and get the divorce certificate and then file your I-751 divorce waiver at that time.

Number two: If there's not enough time between now and when your card expires, you can still go ahead and file your divorce and wait for the decree and file your I-751 even if your card expires.

However, not everyone is comfortable with being out of status. As we just discussed, if USCIS receives your application without the divorce decree, then they will issue a request for evidence for which you will have 87 days to respond. And during this short amount of time, you'll have to deal with the family courts to finalize and get issued judgment of divorce.

Note that divorce proceedings can take several months, if not years, to finalize and complete. And if your divorce is contested, it may take even longer. So you'll want to give yourself as much time as possible in order to pursue divorce. And if you are unsure whether or not you want to get a divorce or whether or not you will need a divorce waiver, you need to carefully consider your situation.

If you don't trust your spouse to get along with you and help you with your case when the time comes, then you may want to be more proactive and explore your options sooner rather than later.

Remember, if your removal of conditions gets denied because of your spouse's lack of activity to help you, then you will be the one facing deportation and not your spouse. And if you're currently facing marital problems, then you may not have enough bona fide evidence to support your case for an I-751.

Marital problems might mean that you're no longer living together, that you don't have joint documents, or that you don't have a lot of pictures together to support your case. So you'll need to carefully consider whether or not you want to initiate the divorce by yourself.

Whatever your situation may be, it is always best to contact both a divorce attorney and also an immigration attorney to understand what options you have on the table. Depending on how your divorce proceedings go, it may severely impact how and when you file your I-751 and how long you may or may not be out of status.

What Evidence is Needed?

Okay now, so what evidence do you actually need to support your case? And what's the best way to prepare your affidavit to explain the divorce? The key here is to prove to USCIS that even though your marriage did not work, it was still made in good faith and it was bona fide.

As I mentioned before, this means that providing the same sort of evidence that you would have filed had you been filing jointly with your spouse. You want to include as much proof as possible.

So you will want to include:

- Proof of cohabitation

- Proof of any children that you have had together

- Joint bank accounts

- Joint bills

- Joint taxes

- Joint leases, or mortgage statements

- Photographs

And any other type of evidence that you can think of to prove that you were in a good faith marriage and that you had intended to have a life together with your spouse.

I'm not going to go into too much more detail over here because I have already covered all this in my video titled "The Ultimate Guide to Proving Your Marriage is Real." In addition, you will want to include proof that your marriage is legally terminated, which usually means the final judgment of divorce or annulment decree.

You will also want to include some evidence of the circumstances surrounding the end of your marriage. And the way that I like to do this is through your own affidavit.

This should include things such as:

- Text messages

- Proof of marital counseling

- Emails

- Goodbye letters

- Anything showing a breakup

- Anything that shows that you had an emotional response to the ending of your marriage is good proof

Again, USCIS is looking for proof of a bona fide marriage. And whenever a marriage ends, there is a lot of emotion that goes into it and a lot of grief that may be had. In addition, you'll want to include your own personal affidavit explaining the details surrounding the end of your marriage.

But also, you will want to include:

- Details of your courtship

- Your relationship

- Your marital life

- How you combined your lives together

- How your marriage started to unravel.

You can also discuss in your affidavit any attempts that you took to try to save your marriage or make it work. Be sure to clearly explain exactly why you're getting divorced, whether it's your desire or your spouse's desire. Even if this is the no-fault divorce or you both have a mutual understanding of the end, you'll want to explain why the marriage does not work out.

When you're preparing your affidavit, aim for two to five pages explaining what has happened. Write in an honest, sincere, and direct tone. And as you write, you can reference specific evidence that you're including with your case. You can also use your affidavit as an opportunity to explain any unusual gaps of evidence.

Timeline for a Waiver

So once you have collected your evidence and submitted your I-751, what can you expect about the timeline and how long it will take to get a response?

The timeline for filing an I-751 divorce waiver is actually typically the same as an I-751 that you may have filed together with your spouse, which means that it can take anywhere from 24 months to 48 months to process. Rest assured that once your I-751 is filed, even if it is filed after the expiration date of your card, your status as a conditional resident will be automatically extended.

You will be able to use your form I-797 receipt showing extension of your conditional residency. And if that receipt is expired, you can always call USCIS to schedule an Infopass appointment to get an I-551 stamp in your passport. Either of these things should allow you to work in the U.S., travel back and forth outside of the U.S., and show proof of your legal status here in the U.S.

Then once your I-751 divorce waiver is approved, you will receive a physical 10-year card, evidencing that you are now an actual permanent resident of the U.S. Typically, once you receive your approval notice, your card will arrive within two to four weeks in the mail.‍

Note that if you actually got divorced from your U.S. citizen spouse, you will have to wait a full five years before you're eligible to file for U.S. citizenship.

Finally, as promised, what if you are separated from your spouse, but you're not yet divorced and your card is about to expire?

BONUS: Waiver WITHOUT a Divorce

What are your options and what can you do in this situation?

If you have experienced mistreatment from your spouse, they did not want to help you file, or they constantly threatened you with divorce or deportation during the course of your marriage, then these may be grounds upon which you can file for a different type of waiver on your I-751, which is called the Extreme Cruelty and Battery Waiver.

In this case, you would submit as much evidence as possible to establish your good faith, bona fide marriage, but you would also want to submit some evidence to show how your spouse has mistreated or abused you during the course of your marriage.

Some of the abuse that may have happened could be:

- Physical abuse

- Emotional abuse

- Psychological abuse, such as threats to deport you or get you in trouble or cancel your case

- Gaslighting or manipulation of any sort

Any other types of abuse including:

- Controlling what you wear

- Controlling how you spend your money

- Forcing you to have sex

- Forcing you into other sexual acts that you may not have been comfortable with

Ideally, you will have some sort of evidence to prove that this sort of abuse has happened to you, which could include:

- Psychological evaluations

- Medical reports

- Police reports

- Affidavits from witnesses

Anything else that might help prove the mistreatment that you have suffered, including text messages and photographs of broken items in your house, for example.

However, rest assured that the level of evidence that is required in this sort of a waiver is less than the divorce waiver, and because this is a waiver under the Violence Against Women Act, you only need to provide any credible evidence. However, I like to suggest that you include as much evidence as you can and that you take an extra step to get a psychological evaluation if nothing else is available to you.

And similar to the divorce waiver, you'll also want to include a personal affidavit that outlines what has happened in your marriage, how your marriage started, and how it started to unravel, especially focusing upon the instances of abuse that you have suffered during your marriage. When your affidavit is written the right way, you may be able to get your waiver approved without any other evidence.

I have helped thousands of immigrants successfully file I-751 waivers, both for divorce and also for extreme cruelty or battery. I know what USCIS is looking for when we file these cases, and I know how to get them approved.

My name is Moumita Rahman, and I have helped thousands of immigrants throughout the U.S. over my 14 years as an immigration attorney. If you would like my help in filing your waiver, call our office at 212-248-7907. I am located in New York, but I work with clients all over the U.S. Your journey is our fight, and we are with you every step of the way.

And to learn about what evidence that you can include to prove that your marriage is bona fide, watch my video titled "The Ultimate Guide to Proving Your Marriage is Real."

In it, I go through every single type of evidence that you might be able to include with your case, starting with primary evidence such as joint bills and taxes, and moving on to secondary evidence such as photographs and text messages, all of which you'll want to include.

I'll put a link to that video above, click it and I'll see you there.