A Guide to Replacing and Reporting Lost Green Card

Tadeo & Silva Immigration Attorneys discuss reporting lost green cards and know how this can be replaced. Get to know more.

Reporting Your Lost Green Card

Losing your green card can be a stressful and fearful event. After all, a green card serves as legal proof of your right to live and work in the U.S.

You may wonder: how can you get a job or re-enter the U.S. without it?

The good news is that the application to replace a permanent resident card is not that complicated. In the meantime, you don’t have to live in fear because there is other evidence you can use to prove that you have the legal right to live and work in the U.S.

This article has all the information you need about replacing a lost green card.

The First Thing You Need to Do When You Lose Your Green Card

Once you realize that your green card is lost or missing, you must contact your local or international police department and file a report.

Why should you obtain a police report if your government-issued ID documents, such as a green card or military ID, are lost or stolen? Reporting them missing will protect you if they are found at a crime scene.

You could end up in trouble if your government-issued ID is linked to a crime scene and you have not reported them as missing or stolen.

What Does it Cost to Replace a Lost Green Card?

The typical replacement fee is $455, and an additional $85 for the biometrics appointment fee.

However, some people do not pay anything, while others only pay the biometrics appointment fee. You will be able to find out the exact fees when you fill out your application to replace a permanent resident card.

I Lost My Green Card, but I Need to Travel

You cannot travel outside or re-enter the U.S. without your green card. At the same time, you can only file Form I-90 within the U.S. So, if you lose your green card while traveling abroad, you will not be able to file replacement forms until you return to your home country.

This is why you need to apply for a boarding foil so that carrier lines can carry you back to the U.S. without your green card. Having a boarding foil is the only way to avoid significant penalties of entering the U.S. without your green card.

To apply for a boarding foil, you need to submit Form I-131A and pay the filing fee.

Here are the documents you need to process for the form to be processed:

• a filled form I-131A

• your passport

• a copy of your passport’s biographic page

• evidence of your departure from the U.S., such as boarding passes 

• proof that you paid the filing fee