Green Card Renewal
If you have a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a Green Card or Form I-551, that is about to expire, you will obviously want to get that taken care of if you plan to continue living in the United States. The Permanent Resident Card is proof of your status as a legal and lawful resident of the United States, with the right to live and work permanently in the country, and evidence that you have followed the United States Immigration laws correctly.
You should renew your Permanent Resident Card/Green Card if you are a legal permanent resident that was issued one that is valid for ten years. You should apply for renewal if the card is already expired, for sure, but ideally when the card is set to expire within the next six months. You should note that this does NOT apply to you if you are a conditional resident and your status is expiring, as that is entirely different. If you are a conditional resident with a status that is about to expire, you must instead apply to have the conditions on your permanent resident status removed.
To apply for your renewal if you are currently in the United States, you must fill out and file Form 1-90. You can download this form from the www.usics.gov website, or by calling the Forms request telephone hotline. Detailed instructions are provided with the form, and you should, of course, follow them carefully to make sure you do not hit any snags during your renewal process.
If you are out of the United States, but you will return within a year of your initial departure, and BEFORE the card expires, you can file for your renewal card upon returning to the States. If your Green Card expires while you are still out of the United States, and you have not yet applied for the renewal card, you will need to contact the closest American Consulate, Port of Entry or USCIS office to try to correct the situation.
Unfortunately, if your renewal application is denied, you are not permitted to appeal the decision. You can submit a motion to reopen or reconsider with the same office (only the same office) that made the decision and ask them to reconsider, but the burden of proof, as it were, falls to you, and you’ll likely want to consult a lawyer for this. All in all, if you have a 10 year Form I-551, your Green Card renewal process will ideally need to start six months before expiration, and from within the United States.