Divorce on Conditional Green Card

[eusruc95]

Hello! First time poster here, wondering if anyone could give some advice for my situation.

I got married to my US citizen spouse in January 2017 after several years together, and we immediately moved to the US. I came on a tourist visa and applied for AOS, receiving my conditional green card in February 2018. It expires in February 2020.

Sadly, last year my spouse had an extramarital affair. After half a year of emotional turmoil, we separated for two months but both changed our minds and agreed to try and fix the relationship. A couple of months ago I found out that he was cheating again. This, coupled with other forms emotional abuse, is leading me to plan for a divorce in the coming months.

Since we do not share property or children and keep our finances separate, I think the divorce proceedings will be short. However, I am not sure that it can be finalized before my green card expires. I have read about Removal of Conditions and know that timing is key... so what would the best path be for me to follow?

Should I ask him to file jointly first, then convert to Removal of Conditions when the divorce is finalized? Or is there a better way to go about this? Is there anything special I should do now to prepare?

Thank you all in advance!

[newacct]

You can file I-751 yourself on the basis of divorce even if you divorce isn't final. They will give you an RFE for the final divorce order. If your divorce is not final by then, USCIS will deny your I-751. When your divorce is final, you can file I-751 on the basis of divorce again; if you are in removal proceedings at that point, you can file I-751 directly with the immigration judge. Removal proceedings doesn't mean you did anything wrong; it's just the process of giving you more time to finish divorce in this situation. See this memo and this memo.