Green Cards, granting permanent residency, need to be renewed every ten years. This can be confusing. Many people believe that their status needs to be renewed every ten years. That is not true. It is the card itself that expires and not your status. Your status is still that of an LPR. That being said, it is still important to renew your card.  

Without a valid Green Card, you may have problems obtaining or maintaining employment, you will not be permitted to naturalize and, if you travel, you will have difficulty reentering the United States. Further, Section 264 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states,

“Every alien in the United States . . . shall be issued a certificate of alien registration or an alien registration receipt card in such form and manner and at such time as shall be prescribed under regulations . . .” It further states, “Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him . . .. Any alien who fails to comply with [these provisions] shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

While it is unlikely that you would actually be charged with a misdemeanor, it is prudent to eliminate the risk by renewing your Green Card in a timely fashion.

It is quite common for people to have successful naturalization applications after a Green Card has expired. However, the Green Card must not be expired when the Application for Naturalization is filed. Further, USCIS cautions that applying for naturalization does not change the legal requirement to have a valid Green Card. Therefore, it may be wise to renew your Green Card even if you have applied for naturalization. Contact us with any questions.