The USCIS has announced exciting news for Conditional Permanent Residents seeking to remove conditions on their conditional legal permanent residence. Starting June 11, 2018, USCIS will begin to issue receipt notices extending conditional residence for 18 months instead of 12 months due to increased processing times for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence and Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status. Conditional green card holders who file their petitions to remove conditions on residence will receive a Form I-797 receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, as evidence of continued status for 18 months past the expiration date on their Permanent Resident Card.
While this is wonderful news for those applying for removal of conditions, we had hoped that the USCIS could have extended the conditional residence time to 24 months instead of giving only 18 months since we have many cases at our office that have gone well beyond 18 months already. However, this is a great first step into streamlining the process for clients who are seeking to remove conditions.