How to Replace Your Permanent Resident Card (I-90): Fees and Timeline

To replace a Permanent Resident Card, file Form I-90 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, pay a fee of $415 online or $465 by mail, attend a biometrics appointment, and wait for the new card to arrive. Most applicants get their replacement in about four months, and the receipt notice you get after filing extends an expiring or expired card for 36 months while you wait.¹ Here is how the process works, when it applies, and what to do if you’re outside the country without a card.

When Form I-90 Is the Right Filing

You can file Form I-90 in any of these situations:²

Your card will expire within six months, or has already expired.
Your card was lost, stolen, or destroyed.
USCIS issued the card with incorrect information (a DHS error). You submit the original wrong card, and this replacement is free.
Your legal name changed through marriage, divorce, or court order.
Your date of birth, gender designation, or other biographic details have changed. USCIS lets you self-select your gender marker on Form I-90 without supporting documentation.³
You just turned 14. Permanent residents must register and be fingerprinted within 30 days of their 14th birthday. If the current card expires after the child’s 16th birthday, there’s no fee.
Your card was mailed but returned to USCIS as undeliverable. That replacement is also free.

Pick the reason accurately on the form. It controls what documents you need to attach and whether you owe a fee, and USCIS may deny an application that claims imminent expiration when the card is nowhere near expiring.

Conditional Residents Should Not File Form I-90

If you got permanent residency through marriage and hold a two-year conditional green card, Form I-90 is the wrong form. You file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, during the 90-day window before the second anniversary of receiving conditional status. Missing that deadline can cost you your permanent resident status and put you into removal proceedings.⁴ The I-90 instructions say directly that conditional residents may not use the form to replace an expired card or one expiring within 90 days.² Check your card: a two-year validity period plus marriage-based status almost always means I-751.

What to Have Ready Before You File

You’ll need your Alien Registration Number (the “A-Number”), which starts with A and appears on your current or expired card and on prior USCIS notices.² The form also asks for your date of admission, full legal name, current mailing address, and physical description.

Supporting documents depend on why you’re filing:

Expired card: a copy of the expiring or expired card.
Lost or stolen card: a copy of a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport.
Name change: a registered copy of your marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. The document must have been registered with the proper civil authority.
DHS error: the original incorrect card (not a copy), plus proof of the correct information, such as a birth certificate or passport.

Fill in every applicable field. USCIS will reject the form outright if required entries like your name, mailing address, or date of birth are missing.⁵

The Fee and Who Doesn’t Pay It

The filing fee is $415 online or $465 by mail, and both amounts include biometric services. There is no separate fingerprinting charge.⁶ The fees are set by 8 CFR § 106.2.⁷

Three situations carry a $0 fee: a card issued with incorrect information because of a DHS error, a card mailed but returned to USCIS as undeliverable, and a first replacement for someone who turned 14 whose card won’t expire until after age 16.⁶

If none of those fit and you can’t afford the fee, request a waiver on Form I-912. You qualify if you receive a means-tested government benefit or can show inability to pay.⁸ Income-based eligibility is generally tied to 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. For 2026, that’s $23,940 or less for a single-person household and $49,500 or less for a four-person household, with higher thresholds in Alaska and Hawaii.⁹ The waiver request can go in with the I-90 by mail or through your USCIS online account.

Filing, Biometrics, and How Long It Takes

You have two ways to file. Online, you create a USCIS account, upload documents, pay through Pay.gov, and track your case in real time. By mail, you send the paper form to a USCIS Lockbox facility at the address listed in the current instructions for your state and carrier. Paper filers include a check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Never send cash. Online payments accept credit cards, debit cards, and electronic bank transfers.

Once USCIS receives the application, you’ll get a Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a receipt number for tracking. Most applicants then get a second notice scheduling a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center, where USCIS takes fingerprints, a photograph, and a digital signature for background checks and to produce the new card.¹⁰

USCIS reported a median processing time of roughly 4 months for Form I-90 in fiscal year 2025.¹¹ Your wait may run shorter or longer depending on local caseloads and whether your background check needs extra review. Track your case with the receipt number from your I-797.

If you move while the case is pending, notify USCIS within 10 days of your new address. This applies to all noncitizens in the United States, not just applicants with something pending.¹² Update it online through your USCIS account or by filing Form AR-11. If a biometrics notice or your new card goes to the wrong address, recovering it becomes your problem.

Proving Your Status While You Wait

The I-797 receipt notice does more than confirm the filing. It automatically extends the validity of your expiring or expired green card for 36 months from the expiration date printed on the card. USCIS raised the extension from 24 months to 36 months effective September 10, 2024.¹ Carry the receipt notice with your expired card. Together they work as proof of status for I-9 employment verification.

If you don’t have any card at all, ask for an I-551 stamp in your passport. It’s formally called an Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunication (ADIT) stamp.¹³ Call the USCIS Contact Center to schedule an appointment at your local field office or to ask about receiving the stamp by mail. The stamp matters most before international travel, since airlines need proof of your right to enter the United States.

If You Lost the Card While Abroad

Losing a green card overseas adds a step. Before an airline will board you back to the United States without penalty, you need a boarding foil. To get one, file Form I-131A, Application for Carrier Documentation, in person at the consular section of a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.¹⁴

Pay the fee online through the USCIS website before your appointment, using a credit card, debit card, or U.S. bank account. Fee waivers aren’t available for this form. Bring your passport, a copy of the biographic page, any evidence of your permanent resident status, a passport-style photo taken within the last 30 days, and proof of your travel dates such as flight itineraries or tickets.

The consulate can’t produce a full green card replacement. Once you’re back in the United States, file Form I-90 through the normal process to get the new card.¹⁵

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals
2
USCIS. Form I-90, Instructions for Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Selecting Gender on USCIS Forms
4
USCIS. Form I-751, Instructions for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
6
USCIS. G-1055 Fee Schedule
7
eCFR. 8 CFR 106.2 – Fees
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Poverty Guidelines
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Historic Processing Times
12
USCIS. Changes of Address
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Carrier Documentation
15
Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs): Consular Services