With a green card, you can live and work anywhere in the United States, travel internationally and re-enter the country, petition for close family members to immigrate, build eligibility for federal benefits, and eventually apply to become a U.S. citizen. The card also comes with duties and limits that catch new permanent residents off guard, so it helps to see the full picture of what you can do with a green card before you assume any given right or benefit is yours.
Live and Work Anywhere in the Country
Your green card authorizes you to live in any state, the District of Columbia, or any U.S. territory, and to work for almost any employer without a separate work permit. The card itself proves both your identity and your right to work.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document When you start a new job, it satisfies Form I-9 verification as a single “List A” document, so your employer cannot demand extra paperwork beyond what the form requires.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
Federal law also shields you from being fired or turned down for a job simply because you’re a permanent resident rather than a citizen.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices The main exceptions are federal positions and roles requiring security clearances that are restricted to citizens, and the narrow case where an employer chooses a citizen over a permanent resident when two candidates are equally qualified.
State professional and occupational licenses are generally open to you. Rules vary by state and profession, but your permanent resident status satisfies the immigration-related eligibility criteria in most places. The hurdles that remain are the same ones citizens face: exams, education, and fees.
Travel Abroad and Return
You can leave the U.S. and come back using your green card as your re-entry document. A Customs and Border Protection officer will review it along with your foreign passport at the port of entry.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. International Travel as a Permanent Resident You still need a valid passport from your country of citizenship to enter other countries; the green card is what gets you back home.
Time abroad is the limit. Stay outside the United States for more than one continuous year and your green card alone stops working for re-entry; you’ll need a new immigrant visa to resume residency.5Department of State. Returning Resident Visas Absences longer than six months but under a year create a presumption that you’ve broken continuous residence, which can hurt a future naturalization application. You can rebut that presumption with evidence you kept ties to the U.S., but the burden is yours.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence
If you know a trip will run past a year, apply for a re-entry permit (Form I-131) before you leave. It’s generally valid for two years, dropping to one year if you’ve spent more than four of the last five years outside the country.7USCIS. Instructions for Form I-131 A valid re-entry permit means the absence alone won’t be treated as abandonment.
Sponsor Close Family Members
You can petition for certain relatives to get their own green cards by filing Form I-130.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative Two “family preference” categories are open to permanent residents:
- F2A: your spouse and unmarried children under 21.
- F2B: your unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older.
You can file as soon as you have your green card, but wait times for a visa to become available can stretch for years, depending on the beneficiary’s country and annual caps.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants Petitioning for parents, siblings, or married children is reserved for U.S. citizens. If you naturalize while an F2A petition is pending, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 shift into the “immediate relative” category, which has no annual cap and can shorten the wait sharply.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
Build Eligibility for Federal Benefits and Financial Programs
Permanent residents work toward the same federal programs citizens use, though some require waiting periods.
Social Security and Medicare
Earn 40 work credits, roughly ten years of employment, and you qualify for Social Security retirement benefits.10Social Security Administration. Social Security Credits Those same credits count toward Social Security disability and Medicare at 65. You earn them through payroll taxes exactly as a citizen does.
Federal Student Aid
You can complete the FAFSA and qualify for federal grants, loans, and work-study on the same basis as citizens, using your Alien Registration Number on the application.11Federal Student Aid. U.S. Citizenship and Eligible Noncitizens
FHA Home Loans
Permanent residents are eligible for FHA-insured mortgages under the same requirements, terms, and conditions as citizens.12HUD. Revisions to Residency Requirements These government-backed loans generally allow lower down payments and more flexible credit standards than conventional financing.
The Five-Year Wait for Means-Tested Benefits
Most green card holders have to wait five years after getting their status before they can access means-tested federal benefits like Medicaid and SNAP.13Congress.gov. PRWORA’s Restrictions on Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Benefits Some states use their own funds to fill the gap during that window, but federal eligibility doesn’t open until year five. Using benefits you do qualify for won’t affect your green card renewal or your re-entry from a trip abroad, since existing permanent residents are generally not subject to public charge determinations in those situations.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Public Charge Resources
Apply for U.S. Citizenship
The green card is the required starting point for naturalization. Most permanent residents can apply after holding their status and maintaining continuous residence for five years. If you’re married to a U.S. citizen and have lived together during that time, the requirement drops to three years.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization You can file Form N-400 up to 90 days before you meet the residence requirement.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization Citizenship unlocks voting, jury service, federal jobs closed to non-citizens, and the ability to sponsor parents and siblings, and it removes the risk of deportation and the rules on re-entry, continuous residence, and card expiration.
What You Still Can’t Do
Permanent residents cannot vote in federal, state, or local elections.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) Voting as a non-citizen is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. ยง 611, and beyond criminal penalties, it can make you both deportable and permanently inadmissible. Immigration authorities treat unlawful voting as one of the most serious violations a green card holder can commit. Jury service is also restricted to citizens; if you get a jury summons, respond by indicating you’re not a citizen rather than ignoring it. Federal jobs that require citizenship and roles that require certain security clearances remain closed as well.
Obligations That Come With the Card
The IRS treats permanent residents identically to citizens. You owe federal income tax on your worldwide income, including wages, investment returns, rental income, and any other earnings from inside or outside the United States.18Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519 – U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens If you work abroad and meet certain residency or physical presence tests, you may be able to exclude up to $132,900 in foreign earned income on your 2026 return.19Internal Revenue Service. Figuring the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
If your foreign financial accounts add up to more than $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file an FBAR through FinCEN’s system. That filing is separate from your tax return, due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.20Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Missing it can bring steep penalties, and it’s a common blind spot for people who kept accounts in their home countries.
Every time you move, you must notify USCIS within 10 days by filing Form AR-11, which can be done online in a few minutes.21U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card Male permanent residents between 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of entering the country or turning 18, whichever comes later.22Selective Service System. Who Needs to Register Skipping registration can block a future naturalization application, since USCIS treats it as evidence of a lack of good moral character.
How You Can Lose Your Green Card
Permanent resident status is durable, but not unconditional. Two paths lead to losing it: criminal convictions and abandonment.
Certain convictions make a permanent resident deportable regardless of how long they’ve lived here. Aggravated felonies, a category that includes murder, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, fraud over a threshold amount, and any theft or violent crime that carries a prison sentence of at least a year, offer almost no available relief from removal.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Below that level, a conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” within five years of admission can trigger deportation if the offense carries a potential sentence of one year or more, and two such convictions at any point after admission have the same effect. Controlled substance violations, firearm offenses, and domestic violence convictions are independent grounds for removal. Any permanent resident facing criminal charges should talk to an immigration lawyer before accepting a plea.
Abandonment is the other risk. If you move abroad and stop treating the U.S. as your primary home, the government can determine you’ve given up your status. Extended absences, failing to file U.S. tax returns, and setting up a permanent home in another country all weigh against you.5Department of State. Returning Resident Visas