Renewing your green card with Form I-90
The passportphoto.digital team · August 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Form I-90 replaces a ten-year green card that is expiring, expired, lost or wrong. It is not the form for a two-year conditional card, and filing the wrong one costs months.
The short version
- File I-90 within the six months before your ten-year card expires — earlier is not accepted, later is allowed but leaves you without proof.
- A two-year conditional card is not renewed on I-90. It requires I-751 (marriage-based) or I-829 (investor-based).
- Your receipt notice extends the validity of your existing card. Read it — the extension period stated on the notice is what counts.
Which card you have
Look at the expiration date. A ten-year card is a standard permanent resident card and renews with Form I-90. A two-year card is a conditional residence card, and it does not renew at all — the conditions have to be removed, on Form I-751 for marriage-based residence or Form I-829 for investor-based.
This distinction matters more than any other detail on this page. Filing I-90 for a conditional card does not renew anything, and by the time the mistake is caught you may be outside the filing window for the form you actually needed, which is the 90 days before the card expires.
I-90 also covers cards that were lost, stolen, damaged, never received, or issued with incorrect information, and older cards that never had an expiration date printed on them.
Your status versus your card
An expired green card does not mean expired status. Permanent residence does not lapse because a piece of plastic did. What lapses is your ability to prove it, which matters at a new job, at a border, at a bank, and anywhere the I-9 process applies.
That is why the receipt notice matters. When USCIS accepts an I-90, it issues a receipt notice that extends the validity of your existing card for a stated period, and the notice presented together with your expired card serves as evidence of status.
The length of that extension has been changed more than once as processing times shifted. Do not rely on a figure you read somewhere — read the period printed on your own notice, and keep the notice with the card.
Filing, biometrics and photos
Most applicants file online, which is faster to submit and easier to track than paper. You will pay a filing fee and, in most cases, a biometrics services fee. Fee amounts and exemptions change, so take them from the USCIS fee schedule at the time you file rather than from an article.
After filing you are usually scheduled for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center, where USCIS takes your fingerprints, signature and photograph. That appointment photo is what appears on the new card.
The passport-style photos you may be asked to supply are a separate item, required on some forms and in some circumstances rather than universally. Read the instructions for your specific form and edition — USCIS revises them, and the version that applies is the one on the USCIS website today, not the one someone described in a forum three years ago.
Traveling while it's pending
You can generally travel with an expired card plus the receipt notice showing the extension, and this is a routine combination that airlines and border officers see constantly. Carry both, physically, not as photos on your phone.
What causes trouble is a long absence. Extended time outside the United States can raise questions about whether you have abandoned residence, and that is a separate issue from your card's expiration date. Trips approaching or exceeding six months attract attention; a year or more creates a serious problem without a reentry permit.
If your travel is imminent and your notice has not arrived, that is worth taking seriously before you book. Proof of a filed application is not the same as the notice itself.
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Check my photo freeFrequently asked
When should I file Form I-90?+
Within the six months before your ten-year card expires. Filing after expiration is allowed, but you will be without proof of status until the receipt notice arrives.
Does an expired green card mean I lost my status?+
No. Permanent residence does not expire with the card. What you lose is the ability to prove it, which affects employment, travel and banking.
Can I renew a two-year conditional card with I-90?+
No. Conditional cards require Form I-751 for marriage-based residence or I-829 for investor-based residence, filed in the 90 days before expiration.
Can I travel while my I-90 is pending?+
Generally yes, carrying your expired card together with the receipt notice that extends its validity. Long absences raise separate abandonment questions.
What size photo does USCIS want?+
Where photos are required, the standard is 2 × 2 inches with the head between 1 and 1⅜ inches — the same specification as a US passport photo. Always check your form's current instructions.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Fees, forms and processing times are revised regularly — the linked government page is the authority. Written and maintained by the passportphoto.digital team.