RICH

I have wondered this before. Once my 10 yr GC expires, what benefit is it to me to renew for $400 odd. Apart from the requirement to carry it, what is it for, since my PR status is not dependent on the validity of the card.

discoviking

You'll probably have an easier time getting on a plane back to the US if your greencard is not expired.

JAJ

You will struggle to prove your PR status (getting a job, drivers license, credit, etc) if you do not have a valid green card. And as someone else has said - you'll have real problems leaving the United States and re-entering as a permanent resident.

RICH

I see your point, but I have hypothetically had a GC for 10 years and got the Job /DL/CC etc.
Is re-entering on an expired card a no-no, given that it indicates PR existed, and has not necessarily expired with the card?

I have a credit card that expires every few years, but I don't have to re-apply every time. They send a new one automatically.

JAJ

You wouldn't get a new job, and if your employer had to re-verify status you might not keep your existing one. Drivers license - if you lost your licence and had to replace it, or if you moved state - you might not get one. And so on.

Problem is you wouldn't get on board a U.S. bound flight. Might possibly work on the land frontier, but likely with a lot of problems.

MarylandNed

Not a good comparison. Of course credit card companies will send you new credit cards - they make money when you use them. A green card only makes money for the government when you pay to renew it.

Here's an article on GC renewal:

http://www.articlesbase.com/law-arti...rd-403725.html

ian-mstm

Why not? He doesn't need to prove his PR status to get a job... only his ability to work legally in the US - which he can do with a D/L and an unrestricted SS card.


If he showed his GC as part of the documents to get the job, the employer is not allowed to reverify his credentials - indeed, they are specifically prohibited from doing so.

Ian

jeffreyhy

Agreed. No. The fee for I-90 is established to cover only the cost of processing the application and producing the card. Neither loss nor profit. Regards, JEff

MarylandNed

Who really knows if that is true? We often hear of immigration fees being used for other things.

My point was that they won't just send out a new green card for free because they would make a loss on that transaction (unlike credit card companies who know that sending out free renewals is a money maker overall even if some individuals rarely use them).

jeffreyhy

The law requires that immigration be revenue neutral. The expenses are reviewed every few years and the fees adjusted accordingly. How accurate the accounting is could be open to question.

Regards, JEff

RICH

Interesting article. It supports my thinking that renewal is simply an admin. exercise. More about potential headaches that would arise, than actually doing something wrong, or losing out on some benefit. Anyway it adds to my reasons to go for naturalization before it expires. Thanks to all who commented.

JAJ

Correct - if he has these. However, if he has moved state to get new job, he may have a problem to get a new D/L without a GC.


What happens if there is a change of employer even though the job is unchanged (take-over, etc.)

Melly

Emotional! Sounds almost silly (irrational) when I write that. I've been in the States almost 29yrs and have only just started thinking about citizenship. Who knows what motivates us!

martyfen

Can anyone answer this question for me - I need to renew my son's green card, He's 21 and we all live in Chicago. Apparently as he has had it since he was 11, we were supposed to have got him a new one when he turned 14 ( according to the website) but this information was not given to us when we originally got our green cards and I have all my original paperwork.

Is this going to be a problem - he has been in and out of the US for vacations and never had any problems.

I would go straight to appying for his citizenship but trying to find out the dates we left the US for vacations and my parents illness is tortuous, easy finding out when he returned. Any suggestions please

jeffreyhy

Sounds like he needs to renew his own green card.
What web site is "the website"? The green card should have an expiration date on it - what is that date?

For what it's worth, my stepson was 6 when he got his green card in 2008. It would have expired and required renewal in 2018 (if he hadn't become a US citizen). Regards, JEff