Form I-751 for a Guatemalan Spouse (2026): Removing the Conditions on a 2-Year Green Card, the 90-Day Window, the Fees and the RENAP Documents

If you were granted conditional resident status through marriage to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, USCIS says to use Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, to remove those conditions. If the petition is never filed, permanent resident status ends automatically two years from the date conditional status was granted.

This page covers the I-751 itself. It explains who files, when, the fee and the evidence. It also lists the Guatemalan civil records you may need from RENAP and what happens if the deadline passes. How the conditional card was issued in the first place (K-1 visa, adjustment of status) is on our K-1 fiancé(e) visa guide.

Quick summary:

• Who files: anyone who got conditional residence through marriage to a US citizen or permanent resident. The form is Form I-751.
• Filing jointly with your spouse: during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional residence expires.
• Filing without your spouse (death, divorce or annulment, abuse, extreme hardship): different timing, see below.
• Fee on G-1055 (edition 10/07/26): $750 paper / $700 online, and $0 for abuse-based waivers.
• Evidence for a joint petition: copies of the front and back of your green card, plus documents showing the marriage was entered in good faith.
• Spanish documents: any Spanish document, such as a RENAP certificate, needs a certified English translation.
• If you never file: permanent resident status ends automatically two years from the date you got conditional status.
• After filing: a properly filed I-751 extends your card’s validity 48 months past its expiration date.

The I-751 page, the instructions and the USCIS Policy Manual chapter we reviewed set no rule specific to Guatemalans. The Guatemalan angle is the paperwork: marriage, birth, death and divorce records come from RENAP, and they are in Spanish.

Who files Form I-751

The USCIS instructions say Form I-751 is for anyone granted conditional resident status through marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. That covers a Guatemalan married to a US citizen and a Guatemalan married to a green card holder.

Children:

• Children who got conditional status on the same day as you or within 90 days after: list their names and A-Numbers in Part 5 of your I-751, and the petition covers them too. Include copies of the front and back of their green cards.
• Children who got conditional status later, or whose conditional resident parent has died: each child files a separate I-751.

Joint filing or filing without your spouse

If you are still married, the instructions say you file jointly with the spouse through whom you obtained conditional status. You may file without your spouse in any of these five cases:

1. You entered the marriage in good faith, but your spouse later died.
2. You entered the marriage in good faith, but it ended in divorce or annulment.
3. You entered the marriage in good faith, but you were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your petitioning spouse.
4. Your conditional resident parent entered the marriage in good faith, but you (the child) were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty. The abuser was your parent’s US citizen or permanent resident spouse, or your conditional resident parent.
5. Termination of your status and removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship.

When to file

The USCIS I-751 web page is stricter on timing. It says you may file individually, or with a request to waive the joint filing requirement, at any time before your conditional permanent resident status expires. The instructions and the Policy Manual allow later filing.

Because the sources differ, the cautious course is:

• File a waiver petition before your card expires too.
• If that date has already passed, ask an immigration attorney or accredited representative.

What it costs

The USCIS fee rule FAQ says the rule incorporates biometric services costs into the main benefit fee and eliminates a separate biometric services fee in most cases. The exceptions it names are Temporary Protected Status and filings accepted on behalf of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The I-751 is not among the exceptions it names.

Check the fee before you pay. On Sept. 30, 2026, USCIS announced inflation adjustments to certain H.R.-1 immigration fees. They apply to requests postmarked on or after Oct. 16, 2026, and requests sent without the proper fee are rejected.

The figures above are the I-751 rows on the schedule we checked on October 15, 2026. That alert does not say whether the I-751 is affected. Confirm on the G-1055 fee schedule the day you file.

How to file

USCIS accepts the I-751 two ways:

• Online, through a USCIS online account. USCIS sends a receipt notice after you submit.
• By mail on paper, to the address on its Direct Filing Addresses page for Form I-751.

Both routes start from the Form I-751 page, which listed the 04/01/24 edition when we checked. Use whatever edition that page shows when you file.

The evidence USCIS lists

For a joint petition, the USCIS I-751 page lists:

• Copies of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card.
• Copies of the front and back of the cards of any conditional resident children included in your petition.
• Evidence of the relationship: documents showing the marriage was entered in good faith and not to get around immigration law. They should cover the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present. USCIS asks for as many documents as you can provide.
• An explanation if you are filing late, and an explanation if a child is filing separately from the conditional resident parent.
• Dispositions of any criminal charges, arrests or convictions.

The instructions give examples of relationship evidence, including:

1. Birth certificates of children born during the marriage.
2. Lease or mortgage contracts showing joint occupancy or ownership of your home.
3. Financial records showing joint assets and liabilities, for example:
   • joint savings and checking accounts with transaction history
   • complete joint federal and state tax returns
   • insurance policies naming the other spouse as beneficiary
   • joint utility bills
   • joint loans

If the relationship has ended, the evidence should also show the circumstances surrounding the end. If you file because your spouse died, the instructions say to submit a copy of the death certificate.

The Guatemalan documents: RENAP and translations

Several of these documents may be Guatemalan:

• a child born in Guatemala during the marriage
• a marriage celebrated in Guatemala
• a spouse who died in Guatemala
• a divorce registered there

The US State Department says to request Guatemalan birth, marriage and death certificates from RENAP, the national registry, not the municipality.

Getting the certificates. RENAP describes these channels:

• Online: RENAP says any citizen can get access to its ePortal by creating a user account at eportal.renap.gob.gt, or by downloading the RENAP SE app on an Android device. RENAP says the portal handles 19 services, among them “certificación de nacimiento, certificación de defunción, certificación de matrimonio, certificación de divorcio”. The RENAP news item we read does not say whether the portal can be used from outside Guatemala.
• At a consulate abroad: RENAP says Guatemalan consulates abroad process DPIs and issue birth certificates.

More on RENAP services is on our RENAP hub.

What the State Department says about Guatemalan records. Its Guatemala civil-documents page is written for visa applicants. It tells them to “request marriage certificates from RENAP (National Registry of Persons) and not his or her municipality”. It also tells them to “request death certificates from RENAP (National Registry of Persons) and not his or her municipality”.

For Guatemalan civil documents it also notes: “Both the front and back pages of the document are required”. That page governs visa interviews, not the I-751. It is still a sensible standard: send USCIS copies of the complete RENAP certificate.

Translation. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), any document containing a foreign language must be accompanied by a “full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate”. It must also carry the translator’s certification that they are competent to translate into English.

Every Spanish RENAP certificate in your packet needs one. A format is on our RENAP certificate translation template for USCIS.

Apostille. The I-751 instructions we reviewed do not set an apostille requirement. The fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers apostille service does not mean USCIS asks for it on this form.

If you miss the deadline

The instructions are blunt: if the petition is not filed, you automatically lose permanent resident status two years from the date you were granted conditional status. You then become removable from the United States.

There is a narrow exception:

• No fault of your own: you may file late with a written explanation asking USCIS to excuse the late filing. You must show the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control and that its length was reasonable.
• Late joint petitions: the Policy Manual says both spouses should send the explanation and supporting documents with the initial filing. Without one, the officer issues a Request for Evidence (RFE). If no one answers it, the petition is denied for abandonment.
• Forgetting does not count: in USCIS’s own words, “Forgetting to file, absent other factors, generally does not constitute good cause and extenuating circumstances”.

After you file

• Card validity extension. USCIS says that since January 2023, the validity of green cards for petitioners who properly file Form I-751 is extended 48 months beyond the card’s expiration date. This extends the card’s validity, but it is not a forecast of when the case will be decided. We have no current processing-time figure for this form.
• Biometrics or interview. USCIS may call you at any time for fingerprints, a photo and signature, or an interview. You may be outside the United States when the appointment notice comes, for example while visiting family in Guatemala. In that case, the notice will tell you to contact a US Embassy, US Consulate or USCIS office abroad to schedule it.
• Travel. For longer stays outside the United States, see the re-entry permit guide.

Related pages

• K-1 fiancé(e) visa for a Guatemalan partner: the step before the conditional card.
• Affidavit of support (I-864) for a Guatemalan relative.
• Recognition of a marriage celebrated abroad.

Sources:

• USCIS Form I-751 page and instructions
• USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 6 Part I Ch. 3
• USCIS fee schedule G-1055 (edition 10/07/26) and fee rule FAQ
• USCIS conditional residence page
• 8 CFR 103.2
• State Department Guatemala civil-documents page
• RENAP

Checked October 15, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Waiver and late-filing cases are where an immigration attorney or accredited representative earns their fee.