Guide · Immigration & Legal Status
How to Renew a Green Card
Form I-90 covers most 10-year cards. If yours is a 2-year conditional card, the form — and the deadline — are different.
If your Permanent Resident Card (green card) is a standard 10-year card, renewing it means filing Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, with USCIS. It's a document renewal, not a new immigration case — your status as a permanent resident doesn't expire when the card does. But the card itself is proof you need for work, travel, and everyday ID checks, so letting it lapse causes real problems even though your green card status is still valid underneath.
📅 When to file
File Form I-90 once your card is within six months of its expiration date — or as soon as possible if it has already expired. There's no penalty for filing right at the six-month mark, and doing so gives USCIS time to process it before the old card stops working as ID. You can file online through your USCIS online account or by mail; online filing isn't available if you're requesting a fee waiver.
💵 What it costs
USCIS charges a base form fee plus a biometric services fee for most I-90 filings, and the total differs slightly depending on whether you file online or by mail. A few narrow categories — like a card that was mailed to you but never received, or one with a USCIS error on it — don't require a fee at all. Because USCIS fees change, check the exact current amount on uscis.gov/i-90 or the USCIS Fee Calculator before you pay, rather than relying on a number from a blog or a friend's experience.
⚠️ Conditional card? Don't use Form I-90
If your green card is a 2-year conditional card — most commonly issued to a spouse who'd been married less than two years when the green card was approved — you do not renew it with Form I-90. You must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, during the 90 days before it expires (or Form I-829 for certain investor cases). Filing I-90 by mistake won't remove the conditions and can leave you without valid status while the mix-up gets sorted out.
Do this first: check the expiration date on your card, then go to uscis.gov/i-90 (10-year cards) or uscis.gov/i-751 (2-year conditional cards) to confirm you're using the right form and the current fee before you file.
Official source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (uscis.gov/i-90 and uscis.gov/i-751).
Sources
1. USCIS, "I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card," uscis.gov/i-90, accessed August 2026. 2. USCIS, "I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence" and "Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage," uscis.gov, accessed August 2026.
Criollo News guides are practical explainers, not immigration advice — every case is different, and immigration rules change often. Confirm your situation with USCIS directly, an accredited immigration attorney, or a DOJ-recognized nonprofit legal service.