1. Can I Travel While My Green Card Renewal is on the Process?
You may travel abroad if you had applied for Green Card renewal and if the application is
pending. While you file Green Card Renewal Form I-90, for Green Card renewal, USCIS will
verify your application and attach a sticker to your Green Card. That Green Card with a
sticker will serve as a proof of your status until you get a Green Card valid for ten years. That
is only a temporary proof of your lawful status and you may present that Green Card with the
sticker, to show that you are a lawful permanent resident and that you had applied for Green
Card renewal. Remember that you may not be able to file Form I-90, if your Green Card
expires while you are outside the United States. You will have to contact an overseas US
Consulate before filing Form I-90, for Green Card renewal. If you find that your Green Card is
going to expire, it is recommended to file an application for Green Card renewal before you
leave the country.
As Green Cards are valid only for ten years, those cards must be renewed before expiration.
A permanent resident card is the one that proves that you are a legal resident of the country
and hence it is important to hold a valid Green Card. If you file Form I-90, for Green Card
renewal, you may travel abroad and return to the United States with the temporary stamp on
your Green Card. That stamp will be valid for a year. While you re-enter the United States
with an expired Green Card, you will have to wait for a long time at the US port of entry,
during the inspection process. To avoid such delays, you may file an application to renew your
Green Card, before leaving the country and you may provide the temporary documentation
that you receive while applying for Green Card renewal, at the US port of entry.
If you had not applied for renewal prior to your travel, you will have to provide various identity
documents and you must satisfy the immigration officer, stating a valid reason why you had
let your Green Card to expire. Moreover, re-entering the United States, with an expired Green
Card, will become more difficult if you had resided outside the country for more than 6
months. USCIS generally processes the Green Card renewal/ Renovación De Green Card
applications and issues Green Cards within five months from the date of your application. As
a proof of your lawful status, USCIS will issue you a temporary proof of your lawful permanent
resident status, while you apply for renewal. This temporary proof will be sufficient to establish
that you are a permanent resident of the United States.
While you return to the United States after a temporary travel, you will be required to present
your Green Card at the US port of entry along with other identity documents such as foreign
national identification card, US Driver’s License, etc, to prove that you are eligible to enter into
the country. While you present an expired Green Card, the process gets complicated and
hence to avoid delays, you may apply for Green Card renewal before leaving the United
States and present the temporary documentation while returning to the United States. Hence,
you may travel while your application for Green Card renewal is pending.
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