How to Check If Your Green Card Is Still Valid: Dates and Extensions

To check if your Green Card is still valid, look at the front of the card, just below your photo, for the line labeled “Card Expires.” If that date is in the future, the card is valid. If it has passed and you haven’t filed to renew, the physical card is expired, but your permanent resident status almost certainly is not. The card is proof of status; the status itself doesn’t lapse just because the plastic did.¹

Reading the Expiration Date on Your Card

Every Green Card issued after August 1989 carries a “Card Expires” date on the front. What that date tells you depends on which type of card you hold:

A standard permanent resident card is valid for 10 years from issuance.
A conditional resident card, issued to people married less than two years when they got their Green Card or to certain investors, is valid for only two years.
A card issued between January 1977 and August 1989 may have no expiration date printed at all.¹

USCIS recommends replacing older cards that lack expiration dates. Outdated designs can cause delays at ports of entry and may not be readable by modern scanning systems.²

Checking a Pending Renewal or Replacement

If you’ve already filed Form I-90 and want to see where the application stands, use the USCIS Case Status tool at egov.uscis.gov. Enter the 13-character receipt number from your Form I-797C notice: three letters followed by ten numbers, with no dashes. The tool returns your current case status.³

What an Expired Card Actually Means

Permanent resident status is generally for life. There are only two ways to lose it: voluntarily abandoning it or having it revoked by an immigration judge. USCIS looks at abandonment based on how long and how often you’ve been outside the United States, the purpose of your travel, whether you’ve kept ties like a home, a job, or tax filings, and your intent to return. A short trip abroad won’t put your status at risk. Living outside the country for a year or more without a re-entry permit is a serious risk.⁴

An expired card is a document problem, not a status problem. But it’s a real problem: employers, airlines, and state DMV offices may refuse to accept it, and you’ll have trouble proving who you are without the extra paperwork described below.

If You Hold a Conditional Green Card

Conditional residents cannot renew their card the way standard residents do. If you got your Green Card through marriage and had been married less than two years at that point, or through certain investor categories, you must file a petition to remove the conditions on your status. For marriage-based cards, that’s Form I-751. For investor-based cards, it’s Form I-829. Both must be filed in the 90-day window immediately before the card expires. Miss that window without filing, and your conditional status automatically terminates and you become removable from the United States.⁵

When you file I-751 or I-829 properly, the receipt notice automatically extends the validity of your conditional card for 48 months beyond its printed expiration date. During that stretch, the expired card together with the I-797 receipt notice proves your status and work authorization.⁶

If Your Card Is Expired or About to Expire

Standard permanent residents renew by filing Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. USCIS accepts the form if your card has already expired or will expire within six months. Filing earlier than that six-month window doesn’t work: USCIS will reject the application.⁷

You also use Form I-90 if your card has no expiration date (issued between 1977 and 1989), if it’s damaged, if it contains incorrect information because of a USCIS error, or if the card was never delivered to you after approval.

Filing Fees and Payment

Online filing costs $415. Paper filing costs $465. There is no fee if you’re filing because USCIS made an error on your previous card, because the card was issued but never delivered, or because a child’s existing card will expire before their 16th birthday.⁸ If you can’t afford the fee, you can request a waiver by filing Form I-912, though online filing isn’t available in that case.⁹

As of October 28, 2025, USCIS no longer accepts checks or money orders. All payments must be made by credit card using Form G-1450 or by ACH debit using Form G-1650.¹⁰

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Cards

The same Form I-90 covers lost, stolen, physically damaged, or destroyed cards. The application asks about the circumstances. If your card was stolen, include a copy of the police report. Bring a photocopy of the missing or damaged card if you have one, along with another form of government-issued photo ID.

If your card is stolen while you’re outside the United States, report the theft to local police, then contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to request carrier documentation so you can board your return flight.¹¹

After You File: The Automatic Extension

USCIS sends a receipt notice (Form I-797C) after receiving your I-90. For renewal applications, that receipt notice automatically extends your card’s validity for 36 months from the “Card Expires” date printed on the card. During those 36 months, you use the expired card together with the receipt notice as proof of status for employment verification, travel, and identification.¹²

Roughly one to two months after filing, USCIS schedules a biometrics appointment to collect fingerprints, a photograph, and your signature. Don’t skip it. If you fail to appear and haven’t asked to reschedule beforehand, USCIS treats the application as abandoned and denies it. That denial cannot be appealed. Your only option is a motion to reopen, and you lose any priority date from the abandoned application.¹³

Processing times for I-90 change frequently. Check egov.uscis.gov/processing-times for current estimates tied to the service center handling your case.

When the Extension Also Runs Out: The ADIT Stamp

If your card is expired, your I-90 is still pending, and the 36-month extension on the receipt notice has itself run out, you can get an ADIT stamp as temporary proof. Formally the Alien Documentation, Identification and Telecommunication stamp, it’s a notation placed in your passport that proves lawful permanent resident status for up to one year.

To request one, call the USCIS Contact Center. An officer verifies your identity and address, then either arranges to mail the stamp to you or schedules an in-person appointment at a field office. In-person visits are still required for urgent cases, situations where USCIS doesn’t have a usable photo on file, or when your identity or address can’t be confirmed by phone.¹⁴

Using an Expired Card at Work

Your work authorization flows from your permanent resident status, not the card, so it doesn’t disappear when the card expires. But employers have to complete Form I-9, and an expired Green Card by itself won’t satisfy that requirement. You need either a valid, unexpired card, or the expired card paired with your I-797 receipt notice showing the automatic extension.

The expired card plus an I-90 receipt notice counts as a List A document, proving both identity and work authorization, and no reverification is needed after the extension ends in those cases. If you’re a conditional resident presenting an expired card with an I-751 receipt notice, that combination counts only as a List C document (work authorization), so you’ll also need a separate List B document like a driver’s license to prove identity.¹⁵

An expired card can also create friction at state DMV offices during a driver’s license renewal, since many states require proof of lawful status. Whether your state accepts the I-797 extension notice varies, so call ahead.

Traveling With an Expired Card

International travel is where expired cards cause the most immediate trouble. Many airlines will refuse to board you with an expired card, even with an I-797 receipt notice in hand. If you have to fly internationally while your renewal is pending, carry the expired card, the original receipt notice, and an unexpired passport from your country of nationality.¹¹

If your card is lost or stolen while you’re abroad, visit a U.S. Embassy or Consulate and file Form I-131A, Application for Carrier Documentation. That produces a boarding foil, which lets you board a flight back to the United States without the airline being penalized. Pay the fee online before your in-person appointment, and bring your passport, evidence of permanent resident status, and proof of your itinerary. Fee waivers aren’t available for this form.¹⁶

If You’re Already Applying for Citizenship

You can file Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization, even if your Green Card has expired. The N-400 receipt notice automatically extends your card’s validity for 24 months from the “Card Expires” date. During that extension, the expired card paired with the N-400 receipt notice works as a valid List A document for Form I-9 employment verification.¹⁷

For many naturalization applicants, that extension avoids the cost and time of filing a separate I-90. If the N-400 hasn’t been decided when the 24 months are up, you can contact the USCIS Contact Center to request an ADIT stamp as temporary proof of status.⁴

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 7.1 Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.1 List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Status Online – Case Status Search
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Lawful Permanent Resident Admission for Naturalization
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Conditional Permanent Residence
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-90, Instructions for Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Modernize Fee Payments with Electronic Funds
11
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. LPR – Lost, Stolen or Expired Green Cards or Has No Expiration Date
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reminder: Permanent Resident Presenting a Form I-797, Notice of Action with an Expired PRC
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Carrier Documentation (Form I-131A)
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extension of Permanent Resident Card for Naturalization Applicants