USCIS Extends Green Card Validity Extension to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals
Effective Sept. 26, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is automatically extending 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 properly file Form I-90 to renew an expiring or expired Green Card may receive this extension. Form I-90 receipt notices had previously provided a 12-month extension of the validity of a Green Card. USCIS has updated the language on Form I-90 receipt notices to extend the validity of a Green Card for 24 months for individuals with a newly filed
Form I-90. On Sept. 26, USCIS began printing amended receipt notices for individuals with a pending Form I-90. These receipt notices can be presented with an expired Green Card as evidence of continued status. This extension is expected to help applicants who experience longer processing times because they will receive proof of lawful permanent resident status as they await their renewed Green Card.
Extension and Redesignation of Syrian TPS
On July 29, 2022, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, through March 31, 2024, if they meet TPS eligibility requirements. The redesignation of Syria allows Syrian nationals and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Syria, who have continuously resided in the United States since July 28, 2022, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since Oct. 1, 2022, to file initial applications for TPS, if they are otherwise eligible.
Extension of Temporary Waiver of 60-day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures on Form I-693
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending our temporary waiver of the requirement that civil surgeons must sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an individual applies for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). The waiver was originally effective until Sept. 30, 2022, but we have extended it to March 31, 2023, to further ease processing delays and associated difficulties in timely completing the immigration medical examination. This waiver applies to all Forms I-693 associated with applications for underlying immigration benefits that have not been adjudicated, regardless of when the application was submitted to USCIS or when a civil surgeon signed the Form I-693.
Extension and Redesignation of TPS for Burma
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcedan extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma for an additional 18 months, from Nov. 26, 2022, through May 25, 2024, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma that prevent individuals from safely returning. In addition, DHS announced a redesignation of Burma for TPS for the same reason, allowing Burmese nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Burma) residing in the United States as of Sept. 25, 2022, to be eligible for TPS. The February 2021 military coup d’état has led to continuing violence, large-scale human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions and the use of deadly force against unarmed individuals, mass displacement of civilians, worsened humanitarian conditions, and limited access to shelter, food, water, and medical care, and spurred an economic crisis.