USCIS Extends Automatic Green Card Validity to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals

Category: Client Alerts
Date: Sept. 30, 2022
Title: USCIS Extends Automatic Green Card Validity to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals | Registration for 2024 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Opens Oct. 5, 2022

Effective Sept. 26, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) automatically extended the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards) to 24 months for lawful permanent residents who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.

Lawful permanent residents who file Form I-90 to renew an expiring or expired Green Card may receive this extension. Form I-90 receipt notices had previously provided only a 12-month extension.

USCIS has updated the language on Form I-90 receipt notices to reflect this new extension period and is currently printing amended receipt notices for individuals with pending Form I-90s. Please note that USCIS has not provided clarification on whether applicants whose I-90 applications have been pending for more than 12 months may use their existing I-90 receipt notices (before getting the new amended receipt notices) for international travel. Our office is monitoring the developments of this new rule and will send an updated alert once further clarifications are provided by USCIS.

Individuals can present these 24-month extension receipt notices with expired Green Cards as evidence of continued status.

If you no longer have your Green Card and need evidence of your lawful permanent resident status (for international travel or employment) while waiting to receive your replacement card, you may request an appointment at a USCIS Field Office to obtain an Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunications (ADIT) stamp after you file Form I-90. For more information, visit USCIS’ Replace Your Green Card page.

If your mailing address changes while your case is pending, please update it through your USCIS Online Account, if you have one.

Registration for 2024 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Opens Oct. 5, 2022

The U.S. Department of State will begin accepting online registration for the 2024 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery starting Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, at noon EDT. For Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024), the DV lottery will allow a maximum of 55,000 “diversity immigrants” to obtain permanent residence in the United States if they are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Entries for the DV-2024 lottery must be submitted electronically by noon EST on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at https://dv-lottery.us during the registration period. Paper entries are not accepted.

The DV lottery is administered on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of State. For FY2024, natives of the following countries remain ineligible to apply for the DV lottery because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela and Vietnam. Persons born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible. Instructions for entering the DV-2024 lottery are available at the U.S. Department of State website: Diversity Visa Instructions (state.gov).