ADIT Stamp and Temporary I-551: How to Request, Fees, and Uses

An ADIT stamp is a free endorsement, formally called a temporary I-551 stamp, that USCIS places in your passport or on a Form I-94 to prove you are a lawful permanent resident when your physical Green Card is not available. It lets you work, travel, and deal with government agencies in the meantime. Before you request one, check whether your receipt notice already extends your Green Card, because for many pending applications the stamp is no longer necessary.

Check Your Receipt Notice Before You Request Anything

USCIS has stretched the automatic extension periods printed on Form I-797 receipt notices, and for most permanent residents with a pending application the receipt paired with the expired Green Card is already valid proof of status and work authorization.

The 36-month I-90 extension replaced an older 24-month policy in September 2024, so if your I-90 receipt is from before that date, confirm which period applies to you.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals

Who Actually Needs an ADIT Stamp

You need a temporary I-551 stamp if you are a lawful permanent resident and one of the following is true:

New immigrants who entered on an immigrant visa are a separate case, covered at the end of this article.

How to Request One

Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283, or use the Emma virtual assistant on the USCIS website, and tell the officer you need temporary evidence of permanent resident status.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center The officer verifies your identity, checks your record, and decides whether the stamp can be mailed to you or whether you need an in-person appointment at a local field office.

If mailing is available for your situation, the officer confirms your address and whether it can receive UPS or FedEx express deliveries, and the field office ships the stamped document to you.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp If an in-person visit is required, the Contact Center schedules the appointment. In some cases a more senior officer will call you back within a few business days to finalize details before the appointment is confirmed.

Urgent travel or a time-sensitive job offer is a reason to say so on the call. USCIS prioritizes in-person appointments for urgent situations.

What to Bring

The document USCIS most wants to see is a valid, unexpired foreign passport with a blank page. A stamp can only be placed in an unexpired passport or on a Form I-94.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replacement of Permanent Resident Card If your passport is expired or you don’t have one, USCIS will stamp a Form I-94 and attach a photo pulled from its own records, so you don’t need to bring passport photos.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Status Documentation for Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)

Also bring:

  • Your Alien Registration Number (A-Number), which appears on prior immigration notices and on the back of any old Green Card. It must match your original immigration records; a mismatch will cause delays.
  • A physical copy of your Form I-797 receipt notice if you have a pending application.
  • Supporting documents for any urgency you mentioned, such as flight itineraries or an offer letter.

Fees and Validity

There is no fee. The ADIT stamp is not listed on the USCIS Fee Schedule, and neither the in-person appointment nor the mailed document carries a cost.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule The underlying application that created the need for the stamp still has its own filing fee, which you paid when you filed it.

The stamp is typically valid for one year from the issue date. If your passport expires in less than a year, the stamp will usually match that earlier date. USCIS has discretion to set a different period based on your circumstances.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replacement of Permanent Resident Card The endorsement shows the issue date, the officer’s name, your A-Number, and a “Valid Until” date, along with a notation that employment is authorized.9Social Security Administration. Evidence of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Status for an SSN Card If no expiration date is written on the stamp, it stays valid until you receive your Green Card.

If the stamp expires before your card arrives, you can request a new one the same way. There is no cap on how many times you can renew, though USCIS will confirm each time that your underlying application is still pending and that you remain eligible.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replacement of Permanent Resident Card

Using the Stamp for Work

A foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp is a List A document for Form I-9, meaning it establishes both identity and work authorization on its own. A stamp on a Form I-94, with the USCIS-attached photo, works the same way.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.1 List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization

Employers must accept any valid List A document. If an employer insists on seeing the physical Green Card, that can constitute document discrimination. The USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274) explicitly lists the temporary I-551 stamp as acceptable.

Using the Stamp for Travel

A valid ADIT stamp in your passport lets you board a flight back to the United States and re-enter the country without a boarding foil or transportation letter. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual confirms that a permanent resident may travel while the stamp is valid, and consular officers are instructed to recognize it as evidence of status.11U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 202.2 (U) Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) Customs and Border Protection likewise recommends getting the stamp before traveling if your Green Card is expired and unavailable.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) Frequently Asked Questions Traveling without valid proof of permanent residence is risky: airlines may refuse to board you, and re-entry becomes far more complicated.

Social Security and State Agencies

The Social Security Administration accepts a temporary I-551 stamp as proof of lawful permanent resident status when you apply for a Social Security number or a replacement card. If your stamp has expired and your Green Card still hasn’t arrived, SSA will send you back to USCIS for a new stamp before processing your application.9Social Security Administration. Evidence of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Status for an SSN Card

State agencies that issue driver’s licenses and other benefits verify your status through the SAVE system using your A-Number. Bring your stamped passport or I-94 to the appointment so the agency can upload a copy if SAVE asks for one.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Verification Process

New Immigrants with an Immigrant Visa

If you just entered the United States on an immigrant visa, you generally don’t need to request an ADIT stamp. CBP stamps your passport at the port of entry, and your machine-readable immigrant visa combined with that admission stamp serves as temporary I-551 evidence for one year from the date of admission.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary I-551 Stamps and MRIVs That one-year validity applies even when the visa doesn’t spell it out. Like the ADIT stamp, the visa-and-admission-stamp combination is a List A document for I-9 purposes. Once your Green Card arrives in the mail, you switch to using that.