Wedding won’t cement status

By Jack Wilkie
Adelante contributor

This month's article continues the discussion of immigration through marriage. Most alien spouses who immigrate through marriage to a U.S. citizen must first obtain conditional permanent resident status before they achieve the unconditional rights of other permanent resident aliens. This conditional status is imposed on aliens who obtain legal permenant resident status if that status is based on a marriage that occurred within two years of their:
n entering the United States as a permanent resident, or
n adjusting to permanent resident status within the country. Conditional status is also imposed on the alien spouse’s sons and daughters if they obtained immigrant visas based on the parent's marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
During the two-year conditional residence period, these aliens have the same rights privileges, and responsibilities as other permanent residents. However, conditional permanent residents must take additional steps at the end of the second year in order to preserve permanent resident status.
At the end of the two-year period, the couple must file a joint petition to have the condition removed. If the government grants this petition and removes the conditional status, the conditional resident spouse is accorded full legal permenant resident status.
The government, however, can terminate the conditional status at any time during the two-year period if it discovers that the marriage was dissolved or annulled, or if it determines that the marriage was entered into fraudulently. If the government terminates the conditional status during the two-year period or denies the couples joint petition to remove the condition, the conditional resident loses lawful immigration status and becomes subject to removal.

This article was reprinted with the permission of El Informador newspaper of Champaign-Urbana, Ill. If you have questions regarding the law, please contact Adelante at (573) 882-1939 or info@adelantesi.com, and we will consult with a team of attorneys to address your concerns.