Legal Question in Immigration Law in Florida
Removal of condition
I have been married since 1995. I received my first greencard in 2000, it expired 2002, I applied for removal of condition then but have not heard from them. I have gone to the local office twice where my file is and they since have told me they will call me for another interview which hasn't happened. How long will I have to wait,and why. Also I need to know if I can apply for naturalization even though I don't have a greencard physically with me presently because they took it since its expired. I have not been out of the country for more than 6 months or a year. I have last been out to canada for 3 weeks in december 2003.
thank you in advance.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Removal of condition
First of all, there should be no condition on your permanent residency if, at the time you became a permanent resident, your marriage was over two years old (assuming you became a permanent resident pursuant to your citizen spouse's sponsorship).
But yes, you can apply for naturalization, although, if your residency really is conditional then, they will have to adjudicate your I-751 before your naturalization application (often they do it simultaneously, and sometimes an application for naturalization has the effect of jump-starting a stalled I-751).
Your questions about why your I-751 is still pending, and how much longer it will take, cannot be answered without knowing more about your case, probably cannot be answered without communicating with USCIS, and may well not be answerable even by them. You should exercise extreme caution with respect to all these things if your marriage is in trouble, or if you think there is any reason the government might be suspicious of your marriage (note that sometimes they delay adjudication of cases when they don't like the case but don't feel they could justify denial -- they just decline to issue a decision, hoping you'll give up, get divorced, whatever). Also, generally people shouldn't apply for naturalization without the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney.
It is likely that you will end up with citizenship, and that the delay is mere bureaucratic inefficiency, but you must plan for more troublesome explanations.
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