The Green Card is the official document which signifies an immigrant’s permanent resident status in the U.S. Immigrants who have obtained Green Cards know about the level of importance of this document. With a Green Card, a person can live permanently and work freely throughout the country. Green Card holders are also able to travel abroad and then return to the U.S. at will. Needless to say, losing a green card, either by misplacement or theft, can be a frightening experience. Fortunately, the process for replacing a lost or stolen Green Card is relatively straightforward. In this post, we will provide a quick guide to replacing a green card which has been lost either within or outside the U.S.
How long does it take to replace a green card? Although the processes for replacing a card are relatively simple, completing these processes can still take quite a bit of time. For this reason, having an experienced immigration attorney to guide you through these processes can be extremely valuable.
If you lose your Green Card inside the U.S., the process for replacing the card is pretty easy. You will need to obtain and fill out a Form I-90 – the “Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.” After you submit your completed form, you will receive your replacement card in 4-8 months. This is a rough estimate, however, and the experience of any given person can differ considerably. Green Card holders need to show their cards whenever they seek to travel abroad or begin a new job. This is why you should submit the Form I-90 as soon as possible after you realize that your card has been lost.
If you lose your card and need to show proof of your Green Card status right away, you can visit a local branch of the USCIS and obtain an I-551 stamp. If you request, the stamp can be made on your passport. The I-551 stamp will suffice as valid proof of your permanent resident status. You can therefore use the stamp to travel or even show an employer if you begin a new job. The stamp is valid for 1 year.
If you lose your Green Card while you’re traveling abroad, the process for replacing the lost card is a bit more complex, but still manageable. If you lose your card while abroad, this creates an issue for your reentry. The solution for this is that you need to obtain a specialized travel document – “carrier documentation” – which will allow you to board an airplane heading back to the U.S. To obtain carrier documentation, you will need to complete a Form I-131A, the “Application for Travel Document,” and then submit this completed form to the closest U.S. Embassy (or Consulate). In addition, you will also want to report the lost Green Card to the local authorities. Lost Green Cards are often turned over to the local authorities, and so you may be able to recover the card before heading back to the U.S.
Once you return to the U.S., you will then need to complete the Form I-90, just as if you had lost the card within the U.S. Hence, replacing a lost card outside the U.S. involves the same process as replacing a card lost within the U.S., but you need to complete other processes as well.
Again, even though these processes are relatively straightforward, having a qualified attorney to provide professional assistance is never a bad idea. The last thing you want is to fill out a form improperly and risk a longer wait period to receive your replacement Green Card. If you’d like more information, or need help replacing a card, give the New Frontier Immigration Law firm a call today at 623-552-5025.
Hillary Walsh is one of America’s foremost immigration attorneys — a nationally recognized advocate whose career has been built case by case, client by client, in the most challenging corners of immigration law.
For over a decade, Hillary has represented immigrants, asylum seekers, trafficking survivors, and families facing deportation in proceedings before the Ninth, Sixth, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and immigration courts across the country. Her legal expertise spans removal defense, asylum, VAWA, T Visa, U Visa, green cards, and naturalization — the full breadth of immigration law, with particular depth in protection-based relief for vulnerable populations.
Her work has reached the highest levels of American jurisprudence. Hillary was invited to author an amicus curiae brief for a U.S. Supreme Court case — a distinction extended to attorneys whose command of immigration law is recognized at the national level.
Hillary founded New Frontier Immigration Law in 2019 with a simple but radical belief: that every person deserves a fighting chance, and that there is a solution for every problem. That legal philosophy has guided thousands of client outcomes across Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and communities nationwide.
She doesn’t just represent clients in immigration court; she shapes how immigration law is argued, understood, and applied.
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