U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Domestic Operations Directorate
Washington, DC 20529-2110
I See Immigration and Naturalization Service Memorandum, "Filing a Waiver of the Joint Filing Requirement Prior to Final Termination of the Marriage," dated April 10, 2003. 2 A CPR who is separated from the petitioning spouse, or has initiated divorce or annulment proceedings with the petitioning spouse, may only file a waiver of the joint filing requirement if he or she can establish that removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship or that the CPR entered the marriage in good faith, but the petitioning spouse or parent battered/ abused the CPR spouse or child. In such instances, the waiver would be based on the hardship or battery, not on the separation or the divorce or annulment proceedings. 3 If the CPR marked Part 2 Box A for a joint filing, but the petitioning spouse did not sign the form, the adjudicator should follow current operating procedures to obtain the spouse's signature. If the CPR does not respond to the signature request, the adjudicator should deny the case for abandonment. If the CPR responds to the request but does not submit the appropriate signatures, the adjudicator should deny the case under 8 CFR §216.4(a)( I) for failure to submit proper signatures. 4 See USCIS Memorandum, "Revised Interview Waiver Criteria for Fonn 1-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence," dated June 24, 2005. 5 See USCIS Memorandum, "Revised Interview Waiver Criteria for Form 1-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence," dated June 24, 2005.