Starting this January, USCIS will be replacing the sticker issued to lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”) to extend the validity of their Green Card with a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action.
When a LPR’s Green Card expires or is about to expire, they must file a Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. Previously, LPRs would receive a sticker from the Applicant Support Center (ASC) at their biometric appointments as temporary evidence of their valid Green Card. With the new changes, LPRs who are replacing their Green Card will use the revised Form I-797, Notice of Action, as a receipt notice for the Form I-90 instead of a sticker. Therefore, LPRs will need to present their revised I-797 receipt notice and their Green Card as temporary evidence of their valid LPR status.
An LPR’s revised I-797 receipt notice and Green Card, together, may serve as evidence of their valid LPR status for up to 12 months after their Green Card expired. According to USCIS, the purpose of this change is to ensure that “certain LPRs with a pending Form I-90 to replace an expiring Green Card have documentation of identity, employment authorization and authorization to return to the United States following temporary foreign travel.”
These changes do not apply to LPRs who have already scheduled their biometrics appointment to replace their expiring Green Card. Those individuals will still receive an extension sticker from ASC. LPRs who have not already scheduled their biometrics appointment will receive the revised receipt notice in the mail 7-10 days after USCIS accepts their filed Form I-90.
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