What are common reasons for denial of I-751?

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues Form I-751, the Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, for use by immigrating spouses of U.S. citizens who were given a green card that was good for only two years. (This is issued only in cases where the marriage was less than two years old either at the time the green card was approved or the immigrant entered the U.S. on an immigrant visa.)

By requiring submission of Form I-751, the immigration authorities are basically giving themselves a second chance at deciding whether the marriage was bona fide, or the real thing, and therefore whether the immigrant should be granted permanent residency (which does not expire, though the actual green card must be renewed every ten years). 

Your I-751 petition can be denied for any of a number of reasons, for example that:

• the application was not properly and completely filled out, or included incomplete or non-convincing paperwork to show that your marriage is still valid and ongoing (or if not, that you qualify for a waiver).  
• the marriage has in fact fallen apart because it was fraudulent or entered into only for the purposes of getting residency.  
• you missed the filing deadline, which is within the 90 days before your two years of conditional residency are due to expire.  

See "Conditional Residence for Recent Marriages" for information on how to successfully fill out Form I-751. If your application is denied, or you are having trouble filling it out, contact a competent immigration lawyer to help you follow up on the rejection or otherwise take the necessary steps to remove the conditional status from your U.S. residency.