USCIS Extends Evidence of Status for Conditional Permanent Residents to 24 Months with Pending Form I-751 or Form I-829

Pasricha & Patel
Sep 08, 2021

Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-extends-evidence-of-status-for-conditional-permanent-residents-to-24-months-with-pending-form

Pasricha & Patel

USCIS has announced that starting on September 4, 2021, it is extending the combined use of the I-797 filing receipt notices that are issued after the filing of I-751 petition to remove conditions on residence, and I-829 petition by entrepreneur to remove conditions on permanent resident status, along with the expiring Permanent Resident Card, from 18 months to 24 months past the expiration of the Permanent Resident Card.

Conditional permanent residents who properly file Form I-751 or Form I-829 will receive a receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (also known as a Green Card), as evidence of continued status for up to 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card, while their case remains pending with USCIS.

Additionally, USCIS will also issue new receipt notices to eligible conditional permanent residents who properly filed their Form I-751 or Form I-829 before September 4, 2021 and whose cases are still pending. Those receipt notices will also serve as evidence of continued status for 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card.

This is actually an update of the policy from the one that USCIS had initially announced back in June 2018, when USCIS had extended the combined use of the I-797 filing receipt notices with the filing of I-751 petitions and the I-829 petitions from 12 months to 18 months due to prolonged processing delays experienced by the USCIS at that time.

This is a welcome step by the USCIS because the processing times of the I-751 and the I-829 are taking longer than 1 year, and in some cases, it is already taking up to 2 years to process. This latest extension of time will help to reduce the disruptions in work and travel that many conditional LPRs currently face in their daily lives.

Should our readers have any specific questions about what this latest news may mean for your own pending petitions, please do not hesitate to contact our office to schedule a consultation to discuss this matter further.