The Trump Administration has put new rules in place related to Removal of Conditions for Lawful Permanent Residents who obtained their greencard based upon a marriage of two (2) years of less. In the past, where a couple stayed together, had sufficient documentation of the legitimacy of their relationship, the interview was often waived and their 10-year greencards were mailed out upon approval. Now, it appears that all applications albeit from solid marriages with multiple children and many assets in both names, interviews will be required. This new change in procedure is already causing extreme backlogs. In the past, cases with good proof of marriage were decided without an interview in about 6 months time. Now the same cases are taking one year or more and will most likely require an interview where both individuals are interrogated, perhaps in separate rooms and extensive documentation will be needed to obtain the 10-year greencard.
This new process is being done in an effort to weed out bad marriages or potential fraudulent arrangements. However, even for solid, good marriages, the process may lead to a hearing before a judge if the incorrect documentation is provided or the interview does not go well. There will be more requests for information on cases sent to applicants which will also further cause complexities and delay processing of cases. Finally, there will be more cases sent to court for final decision before Immigration judges, which will also lead to further delays.
The good news—even though all the cases are taking longer for final decision, the applicant is entitled to receive temporary proof of their status in increments of one year until case completion. This is true, even for those cases that are referred to Immigration Court for final decision.
