A Green cardofficially known as the permanent resident card, allows a person to work and reside permanently in the United States. The time it takes for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process green card renewal or replacement applications varies, but can exceed 14 months.
Some green cards do not contain an expiry date, but most are valid for 10 years. The card for conditional permanent resident status is valid for 2 years. Either way, ensuring you get your documents in a timely manner can help you get your new card before the old one expires.
When to submit a Green Card renewal application
Those with a green card must submit an I-90 form to renew their legal permanent resident status whether their green card has expired or will expire within six months. Also, cardholders who turn 14 after receiving their permanent resident status before their 14th birthday and whose card will expire after their 16th birthday. If your green card does not have an expiration date, it is a very old version, most of which are no longer valid and USCIS recommends that you renew it.
Those who have a conditional permanent resident status may apply to change their status 90 days before their card expires, but they do not use Form I-90. Those whose conditional status is based on marriage, you must file Form I-751. And those whose status is based on being an investor or entrepreneur will need to file Form I-829.
Green Card renewal or replacement period
Processing times may vary, and USCIS updates the time range monthly, but warns that “times may change without notice.” At the time of publication, the current processing time for Form 1-90 (Application for Replacement Permanent Resident Card) to receive a replacement green card, it took 6 to 14.5 months at the Potomac Service Center. The low-end calculation represents the agency’s ability to process 50% of applications and the high-end completion rate of 93%.
.@USCIS has a new mission statement! The United States is a welcoming nation that welcomes people from around the world seeking family reunification, employment or professional opportunities, and humanitarian protection. We want our mission statement to reflect these values. pic.twitter.com/fgtjxFwE1w
— USCIS (@USCIS) February 9, 2022
Renewal requests are generally processed in the order in which they are received. USCIS will accept a case investigation if your request is outside of the normal processing time and before the “Case Investigation Received Date” the agency posted online. You can check the status of your application via the USCIS online tool.
How much does it cost to renew a Green Card?
In most cases, you will have to pay a form fee of $455 in addition to the biometric service fee of $85 for a total of $540. have your Form I-90 Processed. All fees are final and nonrefundable, regardless of any action USCIS takes on your request or if you choose to withdraw your request.
You will not be required to pay these fees if your card was issued but was never received or if the card you received contained an error due to an error by the Department of Homeland Security. However, in the first case, you can only do this if more than 30 days have passed since your card was sent, it was returned to USCIS as undeliverable, and you have not changed address from that provided on the Form I.-90 you submitted.
For cardholders who turn 14 and whose existing card will expire after their 16th birthday, you will only have to pay the biometric fee. For your specific situation, you can use the USCIS Online Fee Calculator. For more information, you can consult the USCIS Contact Center or consult instructions for completing Form I-90.