What Is a Conditional Permanent Resident?

Conditional permanent residence is granted to the spouse of a U.S. citizen who applied for lawful permanent residence based on a marriage that was less than two years old at the time the I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status was approved. This is so the immigration authorities can ensure that the marriage was not fraudulent – meaning entered into for immigration purposes only. For similar reasons, conditional permanent residence is also granted to alien entrepreneurs applying for EB-5 immigrant investor visas. In either case, the immigrant is granted conditional permanent residence with all the rights of a permanent resident. However, in order to avoid letting the conditional status expire, conditional permanent residents have a narrow 90 day window prior to the end of the two year period in which to file form I-751 seeking the "Removal of Conditional Residence". This ensures that the immigrant is still in a valid marriage or, if an EB-5 investor, has substantially met the he capital investment requirement and continuously maintained the investment during the conditional residence period. It’s important for conditional permanent residents to keep a close eye on the narrow 90 day window and ensure that the I-751 is timely filed.