Successful Removal of Conditions for Couple with no Children

• Applicant: Mr. Rodriguez
• Nationality: Mexican
• Case Type: I-751
• Time: 11 Months
• Challenges:
  1. Young couple
  2. No children
  3. Unorthodox relationship as husband is Hispanic and wife is Vietnamese

BACKGROUND

The process of obtaining Permanent Residence through marriage is usually rigorous, given that USCIS is often skeptical that the marriage could have been formed fraudulently. Accordingly, the applicant will receive a conditional green-card for two years. Once this “probationary” period is over, the applicant must then apply to remove those conditions and submit documentary evidence to prove their bonafide marriage.

When an officer reviews an I-751 case, they are looking for many of the things they look for when reviewing the petition for the original green card, but children play a more amplified part of the process for younger couples. Children are essential because of the combination of the idea of the “American dream,” the idea that it’s fairly standard that young people who are married should have kids, and because children are obviously a permanent consequence of a relationship.

However, it is becoming much more popular for young couples to forgo children, usually for a myriad of different reasons. This was the case for our client, Mr. Rodriguez, and his wife. They were leading a wonderful life, happily married, living together in a newly purchased house, traveling the world, and spending time with friends and family. However, when it came time for Mr. Rodriguez to file for his I-751, the lack of children was a glaring weakness on their relationship’s resume. Since our office had filed her original permanent residence application, he came to us for help with his I-751.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

The first step was collecting evidence of co-mingled financials and lifestyle. We had Mr. Rodriguez and his wife collect joint tax-returns, joint bank-accounts, joint medical insurance, along with other documentation to show they shared joint-assets. In addition, we submitted strong evidence to prove that they resided together which included copies of their driver’s licenses and mail sent to their joint address. Another thing the Rodriguez’s had copious amounts of was photographs – they traveled together on many vacations, and, like many couples, attended many events together where they had photos taken together. The final step on the Rodriguez’s end was having them gather sworn affidavits from multiple friends and family attesting to the trueness of their relationship. They had friends write about how long they’ve been together, how in love they are, and about the life that they are leading together.

OUTCOME

 Normally, people can expect USCIS to want to interview them again after reviewing all of their documents, however, our firm experiences a healthy rate of approval by mail, a rarity for other firms. While we were prepared to help the Rodriguez’s prepare for an interview with our thorough and custom interview preparation process, about 11 months after filing we received an approval notice. The Rodriguez’s were free to move forward with their lives, Mr. Rodriguez was secure with his 10-year green card. They are now able to continue in their happily-ever-after, without fear of being broken apart. Our office is also currently helping Mr. Rodriguez prepare his Citizenship application.

*Name has been changed to protect client identity