Green Card

Green Card Renewal and Replacement

Your Green Card provides evidence of your lawful permanent resident status. The expiration of a standard 10-year Green Card does not, by itself, end your permanent resident status or your authorization to work. However, keeping valid evidence of your status remains important for travel, identification, and other purposes. Two-year conditional Green Cards follow different rules, explained below.

The Law Offices of Osas Iyamu, LLC assists with Green Card renewal, replacement, and requests for temporary evidence of permanent residence.

When Should You Renew or Replace Your Green Card?

You generally use Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, when your 10-year Green Card has expired or will expire within six months.

You may also need a replacement when your card:

  • Was lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed.
  • Contains incorrect information.
  • Needs updating after a legal name change.
  • Was issued but never received.

The filing reason determines the required evidence and whether a fee applies. Review the current USCIS renewal and replacement guidance before filing.

Close-up of passports and visa pages

What Does the I-90 Receipt Notice Extend?

For a properly filed application to renew an expiring or expired Green Card, USCIS currently provides a receipt notice extending the card’s validity for 36 months from the expiration date printed on the card.

Keep the receipt notice together with your expired Green Card. The two documents serve as evidence of your continuing permanent resident status during the extension period.

Example: If your card expires on October 10, 2026, a qualifying 36-month extension runs through October 10, 2029. It is calculated from the card’s expiration date, not the date you filed Form I-90.

This is an extension of the card’s validity as evidence of status. Your underlying permanent resident status does not expire merely because the card or extension period ends. Read the extension language on your own notice carefully.

Can You Work With an Expired Green Card?

A lawful permanent resident’s authorization to work does not end simply because the Green Card expires. The documents needed for a new job must be distinguished from the rules for continuing employment.

Starting a new job

When completing Form I-9, you may choose acceptable documents from either:

  • List A: Documentation establishing both identity and employment authorization; or
  • List B plus List C: An identity document together with an employment authorization document.

For example, an acceptable, unexpired state driver’s license and an unrestricted Social Security card can satisfy the List B and List C requirements. A Social Security card marked “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION” is not an unrestricted card.

Your employer cannot insist that you present a Green Card when you provide another acceptable document combination. Documents must satisfy the applicable Form I-9 requirements and reasonably appear genuine and related to you.

An expired Green Card presented with a qualifying I-90 receipt notice extending its validity is acceptable List A documentation during the extension period.

Continuing with your current employer

If you presented a valid Permanent Resident Card when your employer completed Form I-9, the employer should not reverify your employment authorization simply because that card later expires. This rule also applies to a two-year conditional Permanent Resident Card.

Temporary I-551 documents and certain receipt documents have separate follow-up requirements. The USCIS guidance for lawful permanent residents explains these distinctions.

What If Your Green Card Is Lost or Stolen?

U.S. passport and Permanent Resident Card on an American flag

If your Green Card is missing, filing Form I-90 requests a replacement. However, the renewal extension notice is intended to be presented with the card. A receipt notice alone does not replace a missing Green Card for international travel.

If you need temporary evidence of permanent residence, contact USCIS about an ADIT stamp, also called a temporary I-551 stamp. Depending on your circumstances, USCIS may arrange an appointment or mail a Form I-94 bearing an ADIT stamp and your photograph. Temporary evidence may also be needed when your renewal remains pending after your card’s extension expires.

For employment verification, a receipt showing that you applied to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged document may qualify under the separate Form I-9 receipt rule, generally for 90 days from the first day of work. Follow-up documentation is required. This employment rule does not make the receipt an international travel document. See USCIS guidance on acceptable receipts.

Traveling While Your Renewal Is Pending

Before traveling, confirm that you have appropriate documents for your departure and return, such as your Green Card with a valid extension notice or appropriate temporary I-551 evidence. Filing Form I-90 alone does not provide travel documentation.

If your card is lost or stolen while you are abroad, you may need to request carrier documentation through a U.S. embassy or consulate using Form I-131A.

An expired card does not automatically mean you need a boarding foil. USCIS identifies exceptions, including certain permanent residents returning after an absence of less than one year with an expired card originally issued for 10 years. Check with your airline before filing Form I-131A.

Carrier documentation facilitates boarding; it does not guarantee admission or resolve separate concerns about abandonment of residence or admissibility.

Two-Year Conditional Green Cards Require a Different Process

You cannot renew a two-year conditional Green Card by filing Form I-90. Instead, the appropriate removal-of-conditions petition is generally:

  • Form I-751 for residence based on marriage.
  • Form I-829 for residence based on qualifying investment.

Joint marriage-based petitions and investor petitions generally have a 90-day filing window before conditional residence expires. Certain I-751 cases have different filing rules, including cases involving a waiver of joint filing. Missing the applicable deadline can affect your status.

USCIS currently provides qualifying I-751 and I-829 receipt notices extending the card’s validity for 48 months beyond its expiration date, when presented with the expired card. This is separate from the 36-month I-90 renewal extension.

Learn more about conditional permanent residence and removing conditions.

What If You Have Already Applied for Citizenship?

A qualifying Form N-400 receipt notice, presented with your Green Card, extends the card’s validity for 24 months from its expiration date. You may therefore not need a separate I-90 filing solely because the card expires while naturalization is pending.

A lost card presents a different issue and generally still requires replacement. If your extension expires while your application remains pending, ask USCIS about temporary evidence of status.

Help With Green Card Renewal or Replacement

The Law Offices of Osas Iyamu, LLC can review your circumstances, identify the appropriate filing, and assist with supporting evidence and temporary proof of permanent residence.

We assist clients from our office in Ocala, Florida, and through virtual consultations. You can also learn more about Green Card holder rights and responsibilities.

Schedule an immigration consultation. Call 1-800-974-6480 or 352-237-2403.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information about U.S. immigration law and is not legal advice. Immigration laws, policies, and procedures may change, and the appropriate approach depends on your circumstances. Reading this page or contacting our office does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only after a written legal services agreement is signed.