A 2-year green card, actually known as a Conditional Permanent Resident Card, is the U.S. green card issued to immigrants who apply for their permanent residency through marriage to a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident. The main reason for a 2-year green card is to ensure that the of the marriage or investment is genuine and not fraudulent – meaning done merely to obtain legal immmigration status..
Here’s a bit more of the specifics on how it works:
Conditional Status: When you are granted a 2-year green card, it means your permanent residency status is conditional and not actually permanent. This most often applies to those who have been married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident for less than 2 years at the time of the issuance the green card.
Removing Conditions: Before the 2-year period ends, you must ask USCIS to remove the conditions on your resident status by filing Form I-751 (for marriage-based green cards) or Form I-829 (for investor-based green cards). This application should be filed within the 90-days before your 2-year green card expires.
Eligibility for Removal: To successfully remove the conditions, you generally need to prove that the marriage or investment was legitimate and not entered into solely to obtain immigration benefits. For marriage-based cases, this involves providing eproof of a genuine, ongoing relationship. Essentially re-proving that your marriage is “bona fide.” You may be able to keep your green card even if you are now no longer together with your U.S. citzen spouse. In these cases you must prove that you are now divorced, not just separated, and that when you married it was a sincere and legitimate marriage or that you were abused.
Permanent Green Card: Once the conditions are removed, you will be granted a 10-year green card, which is the standard permanent resident status.
It’s cvery importatn to keep track of the expiration date of your 2-year green card and make sure that you file the necessary paperwork on time to keep your permanent residency status.