My I-751 Petition was filed, what are the next steps?

If you obtained your green card based on a marriage to a U.S. citizen and you have been married to the U.S. citizen for less than 2 years on the day you obtained your green card, your green card will only be valid for a conditional period of 2 years. In order to renew the green card in the future, you will be required to file the Petition to Remove Conditions on Green Card. The reason for this is that the U.S. government wants to make sure that you have a legitimate marriage and did not get married just to get a green card.

You will need to prepare an I-751 Petition that will need to be signed both by you and your spouse, if you are still married. You will also need to submit certain supporting documentation with your I-751 Petition, such as your children’s birth certificates, lease agreements or evidence of joint property ownership with your spouse, proof joint bank/credit card statements, joint utility bills, etc.

Once you put together the I-751 Form and Supporting documents, file the petition with USCIS.  You will also need to submit a check with the I-751 petition and you should check the USCIS website to see what the current amount is.

Once USCIS receives your petition, they will issue a Receipt Notice that will also serve as your work and travel authorization for the next 24 months together with your expired green card. If you are travelling internationally, you should also carry your foreign passport.

If you would like to become a US citizen as soon as possible, you may file your naturalization petition 90 days before the 3 year anniversary of getting your conditional green card. Don’t worry if your I-751 Petition is still pending at the time you want to file your naturalization petition – you can have the I-751 and the N-400 (naturalization) petitions pending at the same time. USCIS will usually transfer one of the petitions so they are both being processed at one USCIS service center, and once your interview is scheduled, the USCIS officer will usually adjudicate the I-751 petition at the naturalization interview. Please see our blog post on this topic when you click here.

Please see our blog post that discusses How you can prepare for a naturalization interview when you click here. As part of the naturalization interview, you will need to take a Civics & English test and you should visit the USCIS website that has special resources on how to study for this test. If the officer approves your naturalization petition, he/she will either schedule an Oath Ceremony for a future date, or at some offices, you can have the Oath Ceremony on the same date you have the naturalization interview. At the Oath Ceremony, you will officially become a US citizen, and at the end of the ceremony you will be issued a certificate of citizenship that will be evidence of your US citizenship. With this certificate, you will be able to apply for a US passport.

Once you become a US citizen, your certificate of naturalization and your US passport will be evidence of your US citizenship. You will no longer need your green card as you will no longer be a permanent resident, but you will be a US citizen.