Since you got your green card based on marriage, and you were married less than two years on the day the card was issued, you were issued a two-year conditional permanent resident card. Before your current card expires, you are required to file a separate petition to get a full 10-year permanent resident card.
ℹ️ If you look at your green card, there is an issuance date, and an expiration date. If your card was issued for only two years, it is a conditional green card.
⚮ Unfortunately, we know that sometimes things don’t work out, and that a genuine marriage may not succeed.
🕐 This application usually has to be filed within the 90-day period before your conditional card expires. However, if you are now divorced from the spouse through whom you got your green card, you are actually allowed to file early or late because the deadline doesn’t apply.
🚨 Separation or divorce does put your two-year green card in jeopardy. It changes the nature of the petition and makes it more difficult to get approved.
Filing jointly is a requirement, and when you file alone you are requesting a waiver of the joint filing requirement. In these instances, you have to work extra hard to prove that the marriage was genuine, and provide documents that back that up. You also usually have to have an interview to explain why the marriage ended.
🛑 Important update: applying for a benefit now carries more risk if you lose.
Under a policy in effect since early 2025, when USCIS denies an application and the applicant does not have lawful status, USCIS now routinely issues a Notice to Appear — the document that starts removal proceedings. In plain terms: filing an application that gets denied can now put you in front of an Immigration Judge.
ℹ️ This does not mean you should never apply. It means that weak applications are dangerous, and an honest review of your case before filing matters more than ever.
Since August 2026, USCIS does not have to ask you for missing evidence before denying an application. What that means for your filing.