Yes — if your green card has expired, you can still work in the United States. Lawful permanent resident status and the plastic card that proves it are two different things, and your right to work flows from the status, not the card. The catch is practical rather than legal: a new employer, or your current one during reverification, has to be able to confirm your authorization on Form I-9, and an expired card by itself will not do that job. With the right paperwork alongside it, though, you keep working without interruption.
Status Lasts; the Card Does Not
Once USCIS grants you lawful permanent residence, you hold that status indefinitely. It ends only if you naturalize, voluntarily abandon it, or lose it through a formal legal process such as a removal order.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Maintaining Permanent Residence The 10-year expiration printed on the card is the document’s shelf life, not yours. Your authorization to work in the United States is a feature of the status, so it stays in place after the card lapses.
What changes on the expiration date is your ability to prove any of this quickly. Employers, airlines, and government offices treat the card as the shortcut. Without a valid one in hand, you have to show the underlying status a different way.
Proving Work Authorization With an Expired Card
Every employer in the United States must verify a new hire’s identity and work authorization on Form I-9, using documents that are unexpired or officially extended by the issuing authority.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification An expired green card alone does not satisfy that rule.
The fix is the receipt notice USCIS sends after you file to renew. Once you submit Form I-90, USCIS issues Form I-797C. Presenting the I-797C together with your expired green card counts as a single List A document, establishing both identity and work authorization. That combination extends the card’s validity for 36 months from the expiration date printed on the front.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 36 Months for Green Card Renewals The extension applies whether you are starting a new job or your current employer is reverifying you.4E-Verify. USCIS Extends Validity of Expired Permanent Resident Cards for Renewals
If you need proof before the I-797C arrives, or the 36-month window runs out while the renewal is still pending, you can ask USCIS for an ADIT stamp (also called an I-551 stamp) placed in your passport. It serves as temporary evidence of your permanent resident status and work authorization. To request one, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283; an officer will verify your identity and either schedule an in-person appointment or have the field office mail you a Form I-94 carrying the stamp.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Status Documentation for Lawful Permanent Residents
Renewing the Card
Filing to renew is the step that unlocks the I-797C, so it is worth doing promptly. You renew with Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, either online through a USCIS account or by mailing the paper form to the appropriate USCIS Lockbox.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) Online filing costs less and produces the receipt notice faster.
You will need your Alien Registration Number (A-Number), basic personal information, and a copy of your current or expired card. Fees run as follows:7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule
- Paper filing: $465
- Online filing: $415
- No fee if USCIS issued an incorrect card due to a DHS error, or if your card was returned to USCIS as undeliverable and you never received it
- No fee if you are 14 or older and your card will expire after your 16th birthday
If you cannot afford the fee, you may request a waiver by filing Form I-912. USCIS evaluates eligibility based on whether your household income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines or you receive certain means-tested benefits.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 HHS Poverty Guidelines for Fee Waiver Request
Keep the Form I-797C receipt notice after USCIS accepts your filing. It is your proof of the 36-month extension and your key to completing Form I-9 while you wait for the replacement card. You may also be called in for biometrics to provide fingerprints, a photo, and a signature.
Conditional Residents Are a Different Situation
If your green card is a two-year card because you obtained residence through a marriage that was less than two years old at the time, the rules above do not fit your case. You are a conditional permanent resident, and you do not file Form I-90. Instead, you file Form I-751 to remove the conditions on your residence, and the joint-petition filing window is the 90 days immediately before the card’s expiration date. Filing earlier can result in outright rejection.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
Missing the deadline is where an expired conditional card genuinely threatens your status: USCIS can deny the petition, terminate conditional resident status, and start removal proceedings. USCIS may consider late filings for good cause and extenuating circumstances, but that is discretionary.11USCIS Policy Manual. Chapter 3 – Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence If your marriage has ended or you experienced abuse, you can file Form I-751 individually with a waiver request at any time before the status expires.
If an Employer Refuses Your Documents
Employers must accept any document that appears genuine on its face and is listed as acceptable for Form I-9 purposes. They cannot demand specific documents or ask for more paperwork than the law requires.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents An expired green card presented with a valid I-797C is on that list. Refusing it, or insisting you show something else instead, can constitute document abuse.
Federal law treats it as an unfair immigration-related employment practice when an employer demands more or different documents than required, or refuses to honor documents that reasonably appear genuine, with the purpose of discriminating based on citizenship status or national origin. Civil penalties for document abuse range from $100 to $1,000 per affected individual, with higher amounts for repeat violations.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
If you think an employer has wrongly rejected your documents, the Department of Justice Immigrant and Employee Rights Section runs a worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688, with support in multiple languages. Any formal charge has to be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
A Note on International Travel
Working here with an expired card is manageable. Flying is not the same story. U.S. Customs and Border Protection warns that many airlines will not board passengers presenting an expired green card, even with a valid passport. To be considered for boarding, you generally need the original Form I-797C showing the extension, and foreign gate agents may still not recognize it. If your card expires while you are abroad, you may need to contact a U.S. Embassy or a USCIS international office before flying home.14U.S. Customs and Border Protection. LPR – Lost, Stolen or Expired Green Cards or Has No Expiration Date The answer to whether you can still work is yes; the answer to whether you should travel on an expired card is no, not without preparation.