Starting December 12, 2022, the USCIS will automatically provide a 24-month extension for those who hold an expired Permanent Resident Card (PRC), also colloquially known as a green card, and properly file an N-400 Naturalization application. This is a welcome development that signals the USCIS’ ongoing willingness to reduce the difficulties caused to foreign nationals by the agency’s inability to process applications for immigration benefits in a timely manner.
How it Helps: The primary benefit and practical effect of this extension is that a permanent resident in this situation need no longer file Form I-90 for a replacement PRC or obtain an I-551 or ADIT stamp at a local USCIS office as evidence of their status for employment or travel purposes. The new USCIS policy will apply only to permanent residents whose N-400 applications were filed on or after December 12, 2022.
How it Works: The Form I-797 receipt notice issued for Form N-400 by the USCIS for an application received on or after December 12, 2022, will contain language confirming the automatic PRC extension. This I-797 may be used with the expired PRC as List A evidence of identity and employment authorization for I-9 employment eligibility verification purposes. The USCIS’ announcement is silent as to whether or not a permanent resident’s identity and employment eligibility need to reverified after the 24-month extension has expired. Traditionally, the combination of an expired PRC and a Form I-797 that indicates that the card’s validity has been extended has been considered List C evidence of employment authorization that must be reverified. This combination is typically used by persons who have filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, as well as persons who have filed Form I-90.
Permanent residents who wish to reenter the United States from overseas should also be able to take advantage of this automatic extension, but it is recommended that they bring a copy of the USCIS’ announcement when they check in for their flights or present themselves for admission, since it is possible that some airlines and even some US Customs and Border Protection officers may not be aware of this development.
If the 24-month automatic extension expires before the permanent resident’s naturalization application is approved, he or she may file Form I-90 or seek other temporary evidence of permanent residence.
Permanent residents whose N-400 applications were filed before December 12, 2022, will not benefit from this automatic extension and must either file Form I-90 or seek temporary evidence of their permanent resident status if their PRCs expire while their naturalization applications are pending.
T&S Takeaway: The USCIS notes that this new policy will grant it greater “flexibility and efficiency” by reducing the number of Form I-90 and ADIT stamp applications filed and thus allow the agency to focus on other immigration benefit adjudications. The development should also be seen as part of a wider initiative by the USCIS and the current administration to safeguard foreign nationals from the negative effects of agency processing delays over which they have no control. This includes the agency’s May 2022 extension of the validity of expired Employment Authorization Documents to 540 days. We expect that further beneficial measures of this type will be implemented by the agency in the coming year.
