The class of admission code on your green card is a two- or three-character identifier that shows the legal pathway you used to become a lawful permanent resident. It sits under the “Category” field on the front of your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), and it controls more than record-keeping: it affects whether you can apply for citizenship after three years or five, whether your card comes with a two-year expiration you have to act on, which travel document you can use abroad, and whether the public charge rule applies to you.
Where To Find the Code on Your Card
Look on the front of the card under “Category.” If you don’t have the physical card yet, the same code usually appears on the temporary I-551 stamp or the machine-readable immigrant visa in your passport.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization You’ll need it when you file Form I-90 to replace your card and, in some situations, when you apply for naturalization.
How To Read the Letters and Numbers
The code comes out of the preference structure in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which sorts immigrants into family-based, employment-based, humanitarian, and diversity pathways.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 – Part A – Chapter 1 – Purpose and Background The letters tell you the broad category. The digits narrow it down to your specific relationship or situation, and often signal whether you arrived from abroad as a new immigrant or adjusted status inside the United States.
The main letter prefixes are:
- IR — immediate relative of a U.S. citizen
- CR — conditional resident (usually a spouse married less than two years at admission)
- IB — VAWA self-petitioner in the immediate relative category
- F — family-sponsored preference
- E — employment-based preference
- DV — diversity visa lottery
- RE — refugee
- AS — asylee
- S — certain special immigrants
Within a set, the digits carry meaning. IR1 is the spouse of a U.S. citizen who arrived as a new immigrant; IR6 is the same relationship, adjusted from inside the country. IR2 is the minor child; IR7 is the adjustment version. F21 and F26 both cover the unmarried adult child of a permanent resident, one as a new arrival and one as an adjustment. The “new arrival” and “adjustment” split is a common source of confusion, but both lead to the same permanent resident status.3DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Immigrant Classes of Admission
What the Common Codes Mean
Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens
- IR1 — spouse of a U.S. citizen (new arrival)
- IR2 — unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen (new arrival)
- IR6 — spouse of a U.S. citizen (adjustment of status)
- IR7 — child of a U.S. citizen (adjustment of status)
- CR1 — conditional resident spouse (married less than two years at admission)
- IB1 / IB6 — VAWA self-petitioning spouse, new arrival or adjustment
Immediate relatives are not subject to annual visa caps, which is why these petitions generally move faster than others.4DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Lawful Permanent Residents
Family-Sponsored Preferences
F codes cover the four family preference levels, which do carry annual and per-country caps. F11 is an unmarried adult child of a U.S. citizen arriving as a new immigrant. F31 is a married child of a U.S. citizen. The second digit identifies the specific relationship within the preference tier.
Employment-Based Categories
E codes cover the five employment preferences. E11 is a priority worker with extraordinary ability. E21 is a professional with an advanced degree or exceptional ability. E31 is a skilled worker, EW3 is an “other worker” in a role requiring less than two years of training, and E51 is a principal EB-5 investor.5U.S. Department of State. Immigrant Visa Symbols
Diversity Visa
DV1 is the principal lottery selectee. DV2 is the spouse; DV3 is the child.
Refugees and Asylees
These are the most commonly misidentified codes. The principal refugee code is RE6, not RE1. RE7 is the spouse and RE8 is the child. For asylees, the principal is AS6, with AS7 for spouses and AS8 for children.3DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Immigrant Classes of Admission
CR Codes Come With a Two-Year Deadline
If your code starts with CR, your permanent residence is conditional. The card is valid for only two years, and you have to file Form I-751 to remove the conditions during the 90-day window immediately before the expiration date printed on your card.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Petition to Remove Conditions EB-5 investors with conditional status file Form I-829 within the same 90-day window.
This is the most time-sensitive consequence of any class of admission code. If the card expires and you haven’t filed, USCIS considers your status terminated. Late filing is possible in some circumstances but creates serious complications, so mark the expiration date the day you receive the card and count backward 90 days.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
Three Years or Five Years to Citizenship
Most permanent residents can apply for naturalization after five continuous years of LPR status.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence If your code reflects a green card obtained through marriage to a U.S. citizen (IR1, IR6, CR1, or CR6), you may be eligible after three years, as long as you’ve been living in marital union with that citizen spouse for the full three years and meet the other requirements.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part G Chapter 3 – Spouses of U.S. Citizens Residing in the United States
A divorce before the three-year mark doesn’t change the code on your card, but it does move you back to the standard five-year rule.
Travel Documents If Your Code Is RE or AS
Most permanent residents planning to be abroad for more than a year apply for a reentry permit on Form I-131. If your permanent residence came through refugee or asylee status (RE6, RE7, RE8, AS6, AS7, or AS8), you are eligible for a refugee travel document instead.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-131 Instructions
The distinction matters. Traveling back to your country of origin on a regular reentry permit or your home country’s passport can raise questions about whether you genuinely needed protection. A refugee travel document is designed for this situation. You can still apply for a reentry permit with an RE or AS code, but the refugee travel document is generally the safer choice for international travel.
Public Charge Exemptions Tied to Your Code
The public charge ground of inadmissibility can block certain applicants from getting a green card if the government believes they’re likely to become dependent on public benefits. Several classes of admission are exempt entirely. If your code falls into one of these groups, public charge was never applied to your case:
- Refugees and asylees (RE and AS codes)
- VAWA self-petitioners (IB codes)
- Victims of human trafficking (T visa holders)
- Victims of qualifying crimes (U visa holders)
- Special immigrant juveniles
- Cuban Adjustment Act beneficiaries
The full list of exempt categories is longer and includes several smaller humanitarian programs.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part G Chapter 3 – Applicability If your code is in one of these groups, using public benefits will not put your status at risk on public charge grounds. For everyone else, particularly family-sponsored and employment-based cases, public charge was part of the original adjudication and can come up again if you leave the country and seek readmission.
Fixing a Wrong Code on Your Card
An incorrect code can create problems with naturalization, travel documents, and benefit eligibility, so it’s worth correcting rather than living with. The path depends on who made the mistake.
If USCIS caused the error, file Form I-90 and select filing category 2.d or 3.d (indicating the card contains incorrect data due to a Department of Homeland Security error). Return the incorrect card along with documentation showing what the correct information should be. You generally do not pay a filing fee when the error was on the agency’s side.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Documents and How to Correct, Update, or Replace Them
If the error came from information you provided on your original application, you still file Form I-90, but you pay the standard fee. Check the current USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) for the amount, since fees change. Form I-912 is available if you need a fee waiver.