If you have a green card, you do not need a separate work permit to work in the United States. Your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) is itself proof that you are authorized to work, and it covers any legal job you’re qualified for, with no restrictions on employer, industry, or location.1U.S. Citizenship and Investment Services. Employment Authorization Document
Why the Green Card Is Enough
USCIS is direct on this: lawful permanent residents do not apply for an Employment Authorization Document because the green card is already evidence of employment authorization.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document The right to work is built into your status, not printed on a separate card you have to renew.
The scope is broad. You can take a salaried position, work hourly, freelance, or run your own business. You can switch employers whenever you want without notifying USCIS or filing new paperwork. The agency’s own description of permanent resident rights says you may “work in the United States at any legal work of your qualification and choosing.”3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) An EAD holder, by contrast, often depends on a single employer or pending application to stay authorized.
Green card holders also receive unrestricted Social Security cards, meaning cards without any work-restriction legend. That unrestricted card serves as additional proof of employment eligibility.4Social Security Administration. Evidence of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Status for an SSN Card
Proving Your Work Authorization to an Employer
Every new hire in the United States, including citizens, has to complete Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). The form asks for documents proving both identity and authorization to work.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
Your unexpired green card is a “List A” document, which means it satisfies both requirements on its own. You don’t need a driver’s license, Social Security card, or anything else on top of it.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
You aren’t locked into using the green card either. As a permanent resident, you can present a List A document or a combination of one List B document (proving identity) and one List C document (proving work authorization).7E-Verify. Form I-9 Verification of Lawful Permanent Residents That flexibility matters if the card is being renewed and you’re relying on other documents in the meantime.
If you previously worked on an EAD while your green card application was pending, your employer does not need to complete a brand-new I-9 once your card arrives. Showing them the new card is still a good idea so they can update Section 3 of the form. Because permanent resident status doesn’t expire the way an EAD does, your employer generally won’t need to reverify you again.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document
What If Your Card Is Expired, Lost, or Conditional
An expired card does not mean expired status. Your authorization to live and work in the United States comes from your permanent resident status, not from the plastic card. Proving that status to an employer just takes a different document combination when the card is missing or out of date.
Renewing an Expiring Card
When you file Form I-90 to renew your green card, USCIS sends a receipt notice (Form I-797) that automatically extends the expired card’s validity for 36 months from the expiration date printed on the front. The notice specifically states that you “remain authorized to work and travel,” and that notice, presented with your expired card, is evidence of both status and work authorization.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replace Your Green Card The 36-month extension took effect in September 2024.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals
For Form I-9 purposes, your expired green card combined with the I-797 receipt notice counts as an acceptable List A document. Employers should not reverify you at the end of the extension period.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 7.1 Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Cards
If your card is lost, stolen, or destroyed, file Form I-90 for a replacement. While you wait, USCIS may issue a temporary I-551 stamp (sometimes called an ADIT stamp) in your passport or on a Form I-94. That stamp is temporary evidence of your permanent resident status and work authorization.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Replace Your Green Card A foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp is itself a List A document for I-9 purposes.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization
Don’t wait until the card expires or goes missing to sort this out. File I-90 well before expiration so the receipt notice arrives in time, and if the card is lost, file right away. An employer who sees no card and no receipt notice has no document to accept, whatever your underlying status may be.
Conditional Green Cards
If you obtained permanent residence through a marriage less than two years old at the time, you receive a conditional green card valid for two years instead of ten. A conditional card carries the same work authorization as a standard green card.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage You use it for I-9 verification the same way.
The deadline you cannot miss is filing Form I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence) within the 90-day window before your card expires. Miss that window and your conditional status automatically terminates, which means you lose both your right to work and your right to remain in the country.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence When you file the I-751 on time, USCIS sends a receipt notice extending your expired conditional card’s validity for 48 months from the expiration date.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity for Conditional Permanent Residents with a Pending Form I-751 or Form I-829 Present that notice with the expired card, and you remain authorized to work while USCIS processes your petition.
Jobs a Green Card Won’t Get You
There is a narrow set of positions where a green card isn’t enough. Under Executive Order 11935, only U.S. citizens and nationals can be appointed to competitive service federal jobs, though agencies may hire non-citizens in rare cases when no qualified citizen is available.15U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Employment FAQ – Do I Have to Be a US Citizen to Apply
Security clearances are another barrier. Non-citizens, including green card holders, do not qualify for a standard national security clearance. In limited circumstances a green card holder may receive a Limited Access Authorization at the Secret level or below, but that is not a full clearance and comes with significant restrictions.16Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Security Assurances for Personnel and Facilities Defense, intelligence, and certain law enforcement roles fall into this territory.
Private-sector jobs are different. Outside of positions where federal law or a federal contract requires citizenship, employers cannot refuse to hire you based on your status as a permanent resident rather than a citizen.
Who the EAD Is Actually For
An Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766) exists for people whose immigration status doesn’t automatically include work authorization. That includes people with pending asylum applications, certain F-1 students, and applicants waiting for green card approval after filing Form I-485.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document An EAD is temporary, tied to a specific time period, and has to be renewed.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization
If you already hold a green card, an EAD is irrelevant to you. Permanent resident status provides broader and more durable work authorization than an EAD can. The main reason a current green card holder might see EAD paperwork is looking back at their own immigration history, since many people held an EAD while their green card application was pending.
If an Employer Refuses Your Green Card
Employers sometimes ask green card holders for extra documents beyond what the I-9 requires, or refuse to accept a valid green card and insist on seeing an EAD, a passport, or a birth certificate instead. This is illegal. Federal law treats requesting more or different documents than the I-9 requires, or refusing documents that appear genuine on their face, as an unfair immigration-related employment practice when done with discriminatory intent.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 US Code 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices Employers who violate this rule face civil penalties for each person they discriminate against.
If an employer rejects your valid green card, demands additional documents, or treats you differently because you’re a permanent resident rather than a citizen, you can file a complaint with the Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER). The worker hotline is 1-800-255-7688, and you can also report violations through the IER website.19United States Department of Justice. Immigrant and Employee Rights Section Retaliation against workers who file complaints is separately prohibited under the same statute.