How to Renew Your Green Card

How to Renew Your Expired Green Card

If you are a permanent resident then it is important that you know how to renew your green card.   Renewing your green card will depend on whether you are in the United States or outside of the United States.

If you are inside the United States and your green card has expired or is about to expire then you will file form I-90.  You cannot file form I-90 unless you are close to having your green card expire (you are within 6 months of the green card expiring). You may file this form with USCIS online (you can visit the  USCIS website to obtain the I-90).

However, if you are not inside the United States then you will handle the matter differently.  The USCIS website states that you should handle a green card renewal the following way if you are outside the United States:

If you are outside the United States and your green card will expire within 6 months (but you will return within one year of your departure from the United States and before the card expires) you should file for your renewal card as soon as you return to the United States.

If you are outside the United States when the card expires and you have not applied for the renewal card prior to your departure, you should contact the nearest US consulate, USCIS office, or US port of entry before attempting to file Form I-90 for a renewal green card.

Presently, it is taking between 3-12 months to renew your green card.  The timeline for this process can and likely will change over time. In the meantime, after you have filed the I-90 and while you are waiting for your green card renewal, there is no need to worry as you will receive a temporary proof of status from USCIS.  You can check the status of your application on the USCIS website after you have filed your application.

Green card renewal can be denied for various reasons including for past criminal activity (many times USCIS is not aware of a green card holders criminal activity until the green card holder attempts to obtain an immigration benefit such as renewing their green card or applying for naturalization).  Therefore, even though you have read this blog post titled: how to renew your green card, it is always a good idea to consult with an immigration attorney prior to renewing your green card.

This blog post is about how to renew your green card.  It is not meant for those who are conditional permanent residents. If you are a conditional permanent resident , based on marriage, then you need to take the conditions off of the green card and obtain a permanent green card.  In this case you do not need to know how to renew your green card.  Instead you need to talk to someone about filing a I-751.  This process needs to be done in the 90 day period prior to your conditional green card expiring in order to stay in status and not risk removal (deportation) proceedings being started against you. You should consult with an experienced immigration attorney.

Lawrence Gruner is an immigration attorney with almost 20 years of experience handling immigration cases.  He would be happy to talk to you, free of charge, about your immigration issues.  His office has clients throughout the United States and the World. He can be reached at 888-801-6558 or 916-760-7270