How to fill in Form I-90 (green card renewal or replacement, USA)

What the form is for

Use the I-90 to replace or renew your Permanent Resident Card (the green card). Typical reasons: it has expired or expires within six months, it was lost, stolen or destroyed, it is damaged, your name or other data legally changed, or it has a mistake.

You can file it online with a USCIS account or by mail. This guide is about the paper form: you fill it in, sign it in ink and mail it with a copy of the documents for your reason and the fee.

The current edition is dated 01/20/25 (bottom of every page). USCIS asks you to check that the edition date matches on all pages.

Who needs it

The form is for lawful permanent residents, permanent residents in commuter status and, for some reasons, conditional residents. Before you start, check these points on the USCIS pages:

• Do not use the I-90 if you are a conditional resident and your two-year card is about to expire (within 90 days). Marriage-based conditional residents file Form I-751; investors file Form I-829. A conditional resident can use the I-90 only to replace a card (lost, never received, damaged, wrong data), and not if it has already expired or expires within 90 days.
• To renew, file when your card is within six months of expiring (or already expired). If you choose that reason and your card does not expire within six months, the application may be denied.
• The fee is $465 on paper and $415 online (USCIS fee schedule G-1055, edition 10/26/26). It is $0 if the card was issued with incorrect information because of a DHS (USCIS) error, if USCIS issued the card but it came back undeliverable, or if you turned 14 and your card is valid past your 16th birthday (reason 2.g.1, within 30 days of your birthday). A fee waiver can be requested with Form I-912.
• USCIS may call you for biometrics (fingerprints, photo, signature). It then sends an appointment notice; the receipt notice is not that appointment. The fee schedule lists no separate biometric fee for the I-90.
• For a renewal, the receipt notice together with your expired card is evidence of your status for 36 months after the card's expiry date.

Before you start

• The I-90, filled in and signed in ink (an unsigned form is rejected).
• The fee of $465 (paper filing) paid by credit card (Form G-1450) or bank transfer (Form G-1650), or a fee waiver request (Form I-912).
• For a lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged card: a copy of the card, or an ID with your name, date of birth, photo and signature (passport, driver's licence).
• For an expiring or expired card: a copy of that card. If USCIS made a mistake on it, send the original card.
• For a name or data change: the registered legal document (marriage certificate, divorce or adoption decree, court order). For a card never received: the latest Form I-797 notice for the application that should have produced it.
• Documents in another language need a full English translation with the translator's signed certification.

Section by section

Here is what each part asks, in plain words, in the order it appears.

1. 1

   Part 1, items 1-2: A-Number and online account

   The A-Number starts with A and is on your green card and USCIS letters. The USCIS Online Account Number only exists if you filed something online or have a receipt number starting with IOE; otherwise write N/A.

2. 2

   Part 1, items 3-5: your name

   3.a-3.c: your full legal name; the new card will be issued in this name. Item 4: tick Yes if your name changed since the card was issued, No if not, or N/A if you never received the card. Only if you ticked Yes, 5.a-5.c ask for your name exactly as printed on the current card.

3. 3

   Part 1, items 6-7: mailing and physical address

   The mailing address is where USCIS writes to you. USCIS mails the card only to a U.S. address (commuters living abroad are the exception). Fill the physical address (7.a-7.h) only if it differs from the mailing address. Tick Apt., Ste. or Flr. and then write its number.

4. 4

   Part 1, items 8-16: about you

   Sex, date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy: month first), city and country of birth, your mother's and father's first names, class of admission (the code on your card, such as IR1 or CR2) and date of admission. The Social Security number is only if you have one.

5. 5

   Part 2: your status (1.a-1.c)

   Tick only one: 1.a Lawful Permanent Resident, 1.b Permanent Resident in commuter status, or 1.c Conditional Permanent Resident. It decides whether you continue with Section A or Section B.

6. 6

   Part 2, Section A: reason for application (2.a-2.j)

   Tick only one. 2.a lost, stolen or destroyed; 2.b issued but never received; 2.c mutilated; 2.d wrong data caused by DHS (send the original card); 2.e name or other data legally changed (this includes errors that were not DHS's); 2.f expired or expires within six months (the usual renewal); 2.g.1 and 2.g.2 you turned 14 and must register (within 30 days; 2.g.1 if the card expires after your 16th birthday, 2.g.2 if before); 2.h.1 and 2.h.2 commuter status; 2.i automatically converted to permanent resident; 2.j old edition card or another reason.

7. 7

   Part 2, Section B: conditional residents (3.a-3.e)

   Only if you ticked 1.c. The reasons are 3.a lost, 3.b never received, 3.c mutilated, 3.d DHS error, 3.e legal change of name or data. There is no reason for an expiring conditional card: that needs the I-751 or I-829.

8. 8

   Part 3: processing information

   Where you applied for your immigrant visa or adjustment of status, where the visa was issued or the status granted, and, if you entered with an immigrant visa, your destination in the U.S. and the port of entry where you were admitted. Items 4 and 5 ask about removal proceedings and about Form I-407 or abandonment of status: a Yes needs an explanation in Part 8.

9. 9

   Part 3: biographic information (items 6-11)

   Ethnicity (one box), race (all that apply), height in feet and inches (not metres), weight in pounds (not kilograms) and eye and hair colour. Giving this now can shorten a biometrics appointment.

10. 10

    Part 4: accommodations

    Only if you ask for an accommodation because of a disability: tick Yes and the matching box (deaf or hard of hearing, blind or low vision, or other) and describe what you need. Otherwise tick No.

11. 11

    Part 5: your statement, contact details and signature

    Tick 1.a if you read and understood the form yourself, or 1.b if an interpreter read it to you (then name the language); tick 2 if a preparer helped. Then your daytime phone, mobile and email, and your signature in ink with the date (mm/dd/yyyy). Printed or typed names do not count.

12. 12

    Parts 6, 7 and 8: interpreter, preparer, extra space

    Part 6 is filled by an interpreter and Part 7 by anyone who prepared the form for you, who must also sign. Leave them empty if nobody helped. Part 8 is extra space for answers that do not fit: write your name and A-Number, and the page, part and item number each time.

Common mistakes

• Using the I-90 to renew a two-year conditional card

  If your conditional residence expires within 90 days, file the I-751 (marriage) or I-829 (investment) instead. The I-90 will not remove the conditions.

• Choosing "never received" when the card was delivered

  Reason 2.b only applies if USCIS issued the card and it was returned as undeliverable. If it was delivered and you lost it, use 2.a.

• Choosing "expires within six months" too early

  With reason 2.f, a card that does not expire within six months can lead to a denial. Wait until the window opens.

• Sending it unsigned or with a typed name

  A missing or invalid signature gets the application rejected. Family name, mailing address and date of birth are also required.

• A foreign mailing address

  USCIS does not mail a green card abroad (except to commuters). If you will travel, USCIS recommends receiving the new card before you leave.

• A copy instead of the original card

  When the card has wrong data because of a DHS error (2.d / 3.d), send the original card; a copy is not accepted. In other cases send copies and keep the originals.

• Mailing it to the wrong address

  The USCIS I-90 page lists the lockbox for the post office and a different street address for FedEx, UPS and DHL. Check it before you send.