Recently on April 7, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy update to adopt a risk-based approach when waiving interviews for conditional permanent residents (CPR) who have filed a petition to remove the conditions on their permanent resident status. A noncitizen who obtains US permanent resident status based on a marriage that began less than two years before obtaining that status is only granted permanent resident status on a conditional basis for two years. To remove the conditions on permanent resident status, family-based CPRs generally must file a Form I-751 within the 90-day period before the two-year anniversary of when they obtained CPR status.
This update replaces previous agency guidance that required all CPRs to undergo an interview if they obtained CPR status via consular processing. USCIS believes that this new approach will increase efficiencies that improve processing times, enable better allocation of agency staffing resources, reduce pending caseloads, while maintaining procedures to identify fraud and protect national security.
Effective immediately, USCIS may waive the interview requirement if the agency officer determines:
- there is sufficient evidence that the marriage is bonafide;
- the joint-filing requirement is eligible for a waiver (if applicable);
- there is no indication of fraud or misrepresentation in supporting documents;
- there are no complex facts or issues to resolve via an interview; and
- there is no criminal history that would render the CPR removable.