Question on Qualifications for Removal of Conditions

[criandjen 0]

We are about to file the I-751 to remove the conditions for my husband's permanent residency. The problem is, my husband works for a U.S. company but for the European division so most of his work is in Europe.

We have a residence in the U.S. and a residence in Italy. Our residence in the U.S. is actually my parent's home (not in our name). We are physically in the U.S. about 2 months a year.

We spend more of our time in Europe since his work is here. We realize now that probably filing for the Green Card was a mistake since in the past 2 years he has not been able to find a job in the U.S. so we have not officially moved to the U.S. But we are married and have families in both countries so our ultimate goal is we want my husband to have a U.S. passport so that we can live in either country. We do not want to drop out of the process now and lose all the money and time we have already invested into this lengthy and expensive process. Please note we are not trying to cheat the system-when we started this process, we thought we would be living and working in the U.S. but with the U.S. economy the way it is, it has been impossible for us to find jobs there and according to the rules of the green card process, we do not want to live off of the state and take advantage. Of course we want to make it on our own.

So our dilemna is this-do we drop this process now or do we keep going? I called USCIS tonight to understand the process better and in order to remove the qualifications, you have to prove that you are still married to a U.S. citizen. The representative mentioned nothing about proving that you physically live in the U.S. Is physically living in the U.S. not a condition? We have a shared bank account in the U.S. as well as he is named as the beneficiary for my 401K and also on my family's trust. We have also filed taxes each year but listing our Italy address as our address (since we filed as American citizens living abroad). Please let us know if should continue the process or do people think our application will be denied, based on what I have noted above about our situation?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Part of the I-751 application is providing proof of a life together in the US of A. A house or apartment in both of your names. Account statements, jointly filed tax returns. Car title, car insurance, and lots of things that show a life together in the US of A.

I don't see how you could pull this off, if you live in Italy basically since your husband became a permanent resident of the US.

The I-751 costs $590, and you have to be present for the Biometrics appointment, perhaps an interview. A new IR-1 petition costs only considerably more, but less if you don't have to fly to the US. Both will result in a 10-year Green Card.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Just Bob