Termination of conditional residence

The Immigration Service can terminate the permanent residence if:

1) The marriage is judicially annulled or terminated, other than by the death of the spouse;

2) The marriage was entered into because a fee was paid for the alien's entry (except the fee to an attorney); or

3) The parties fail to file a joint petition within a 90-day period before the second anniversary of conditional residency.

It is possible to obtain a waiver to the filing of a joint petition if:

a) It is possible to show that extreme hardship will result if the alien is deported and that the extreme hardship arose during the conditional residence period; or

b) The qualified marriage was entered into in good faith by the alien and has been terminated; or

c) The marriage was entered into in good faith and the spouse was battered by or subjected to extreme cruelty perpetrated by his/her spouse and the beneficiary was not at fault in failing the petitioning requirements.