Conditional Lawful Permanent Residence (CLPR)
As part of immigration reform under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), as well as further reform enacted in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), persons who are eligible and properly apply for permanent residence based on either a recent marriage to a U.S. citizen or as an investor are granted permanent residence on a conditional basis for two years.
The expiration date of the conditional period is two years from the approval date. When this two-year conditional period is over, the permanent residence automatically expires and the applicant is subject to deportation and removal.
To avoid this, 90 days or less before the conditional residence expires, the applicant must file I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions (if conditional permanent residence was obtained through investment) with USCIS to have the conditions removed.
Upon approval, the applicant is then free from the conditional requirement.
It is important to note that this two-year conditional residence period counts towards time as a permanent resident for all purposes including naturalization.