Can I file Form I-751 to remove conditions if I'm getting divorced?

A conditional permanent resident is normally required to file Form I-751 jointly with the petitioning spouse 90 days before the second anniversary of the green card under INA § 216. When the marriage ends in divorce — or annulment, or before the divorce is final — the conditional resident can file alone under one of three waiver grounds in INA § 216(c)(4): (A) extreme hardship if removed; (B) the marriage was entered in good faith but terminated; or (C) battery or extreme cruelty by the petitioning spouse.

What "good faith but terminated" actually requires

Under 8 C.F.R. § 216.5(e)(2) the applicant must prove the marriage was entered into in good faith at inception — the later breakdown is not held against them. USCIS reviews the same evidentiary categories as a first-time I-130: joint finances, joint residence, photographs over time, sworn affidavits. The difference is that the record is now historical, not current, so reconstruction matters: bank statements may need to be subpoenaed, witnesses tracked down, and the divorce decree itself must be a final judgment (a pending dissolution is not enough, though USCIS now accepts a "good cause" filing while the divorce is pending and adjudicates once it is final).

The most common pitfall

Conditional residents often wait until the joint I-751 deadline passes and only then realize they need a waiver. Once out of status, ICE can place them in removal proceedings, and the I-751 must be renewed before the immigration judge. Filing earlier — as soon as the marriage breaks down, with a request to convert to a waiver — keeps the case in front of USCIS and preserves the work permit and travel document.

How we handle this

We file the waiver-based I-751 with a built-in fallback: if USCIS denies the good-faith waiver, the same packet supports an extreme-hardship waiver and a battery/cruelty waiver where the facts support it. We also coordinate timing with the family-law case so the divorce decree, custody order, and protective order (where relevant) corroborate the immigration record. The goal is one filing, one set of evidence, and one adjudication — not a denial followed by years in removal proceedings.