If you got your green card through marriage — by consular processing on a CR-1 visa or by adjustment of status inside the US within two years of your wedding — USCIS issued you a conditional permanent resident card valid for only 2 years, not the usual 10. Before that card expires, you must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, to convert it into a standard 10-year green card. Missing this step doesn’t just leave you with an expired card — it can end your permanent resident status altogether. Here’s how the process works in 2026.
The 90-day filing window
Form I-751 must generally be filed during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional green card’s expiration date, printed on the front of the card. USCIS’s own guidance is explicit on this point: “You must file your Form I-751 during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional residence expires” (uscis.gov/i-751). Filing too early, before that window opens, typically results in a rejection; filing after the card has expired without a pending petition can put you out of status.
The exception is a waiver petition (divorce, death of the spouse, or abuse) — those can be filed any time after you become a conditional resident, without waiting for the 90-day window, and generally before you’re placed in removal proceedings.
Joint filing vs. filing a waiver
There are two paths:
- Joint filing. If you’re still married to the spouse through whom you obtained conditional residence, you and your spouse file Form I-751 together and both sign it.
- Waiver of the joint filing requirement. You can file alone if you fall into one of the
grounds USCIS recognizes on the I-751 itself:
- Termination of the marriage by divorce or annulment, after a marriage entered into in good faith
- Death of the petitioning spouse, after a good-faith marriage
- You or your child were subjected to battery or extreme cruelty by the US citizen or permanent resident spouse
- Termination of status would cause extreme hardship
These categories are listed directly in USCIS’s I-751 filing instructions (uscis.gov/i-751). If your divorce isn’t final yet but you’re separated or in the process, talk to an immigration attorney about timing — some filers wait for the divorce decree, while others file the waiver with evidence the divorce is underway.
Evidence of a bona fide marriage
Whichever path you take, the core of the petition is proving the marriage was entered into in good faith, not to evade immigration law. Useful evidence includes:
- Joint bank, credit, or lease/mortgage documents
- Joint tax returns filed since the marriage
- Birth certificates of children born to the marriage
- Joint insurance policies (health, auto, life) naming each other
- Affidavits from friends or family who know the relationship
- Photos together spanning the marriage, travel itineraries, correspondence
More evidence, and more variety of evidence, generally strengthens a joint petition and is often essential to a waiver petition, since there’s no second spouse to corroborate the relationship.
The 48-month automatic extension while your case is pending
Processing times for I-751 have run long in recent years, so USCIS extends your conditional resident status automatically while your petition is pending. Per USCIS’s official announcement, once USCIS properly accepts your I-751, “USCIS extends the validity of Permanent Resident Cards … for 48 months beyond the card’s expiration date,” and petitioners can present their receipt notice together with their expired card as proof of continued status, work authorization, and travel ability (uscis.gov newsroom alert). This extension policy for I-751 took effect January 25, 2023. If your receipt notice shows a shorter extension than 48 months, USCIS says it will issue you a corrected notice — but you can also check status and request a replacement through your USCIS online account.
Biometrics and the interview
USCIS reuses or collects fingerprints, photos, and a signature (biometrics) as part of processing most I-751 petitions, generally through an in-person or walk-in biometrics appointment or via biometric reuse from a prior filing. Not every filer is scheduled for an in-person USCIS interview — many clean joint-filing petitions with solid documentary evidence are approved without one — but USCIS can require an interview, especially on waiver cases or when the file raises questions about the marriage.
Current fee
USCIS periodically adjusts filing fees, and the exact current amount for Form I-751 (and whether a biometrics services fee applies separately) is published on USCIS’s official Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) and Fee Calculator. Because fees change and differ for online versus paper filing, confirm the exact figure on those official pages immediately before you file rather than relying on a number you saw elsewhere — paying the wrong fee is one of the most common reasons a petition gets rejected outright.
What happens after approval
If USCIS approves your I-751, it removes the conditions on your residence and you become a permanent resident with a standard 10-year green card — no more conditional status, and no second renewal tied to the marriage. USCIS will mail you the new card; if your approval doesn’t come with a new card quickly, you can also use your I-751 approval notice as interim proof of status. From here, the standard 10-year renewal process (Form I-90) is the same one described in our green card renewal (I-90) guide.
Before you file
- Confirm your exact 90-day window using the expiration date on your current card
- Decide joint filing vs. waiver based on your actual marital situation today, not when you got the green card
- Assemble bona fide marriage evidence well before your window opens
- Double-check the current fee on uscis.gov before submitting payment
- If your situation involves divorce, abuse, or a deceased spouse, strongly consider consulting an immigration attorney — waiver cases carry more scrutiny and more room for avoidable mistakes
This guide is general information, not legal advice — rules and fees change, so always confirm current requirements directly on uscis.gov before filing. If you’re still working out whether your situation points toward a marriage-based green card path at all, see our marriage green card guide, and join our waitlist for help tracking your own I-751 filing window and documentation checklist.