
Green Card Holders Face Major Immigration Backlog: What to Know
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The U.S. immigration system has faced growing strain, with a backlog of pending applications reaching an all-time high of 11.3 million, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The slowdown in processing and rising delays have left millions of applicants in a state of legal and personal limbo, and green card replacement delays have added to the frustration. Form I‑90 processing times have increased dramatically, now taking more than eight months to complete.
Despite this surge in wait times, experts say green card holders should not panic.
"While it may be surprising, from a legal and practical perspective, the sharp increase in Form I-90 processing times is not of concern. There is already a policy fix in place," Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek.
An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office, Friday, August 17, 2018, in Miami....
An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office, Friday, August 17, 2018, in Miami. More
Wilfredo Lee/AP
When a lawful permanent resident files a Form I‑90 to renew an expiring green card, USCIS immediately issues a receipt notice, which automatically extends the validity of the expired card for 48 months.
"Presenting the expired green card alongside the receipt notice is legally equivalent to having an unexpired green card. The receipt notice itself includes language explaining that it extends the green card, so there should not be confusion on the part of employers, airlines, or others.
"An expired green card does not mean an expired status."
USCIS has long acknowledged that it prioritizes applications that impact an individual's immigration status more directly, diverting resources away from lower-risk tasks like card renewals.
Still, for the millions caught in the backlog, the key is understanding that status remains intact, and the paperwork, though delayed, does not affect the right to live and work in the U.S.
If green card holders need to prove their status to employers, airlines, or immigration officers while waiting for their new card, the receipt notice plus the expired card is fully valid. Those without either document can request an ADIT (I‑551) stamp at a local USCIS office, which serves as temporary proof of permanent residency for work, travel, or reentry to the country.
"This is somewhat similar to a US citizen whose status remains unchanged even if they don't have a valid passport. We can think of it like an expired passport—you are still a citizen," Bailey said.
While the backlog highlights wider strains in the immigration system, experts stress that understanding the protections in place can help green card holders avoid unnecessary worry—and stay legally covered until their new card arrives.
"The filing of the Form I-90 does not actually confer an immigration benefit—it simply updates the physical proof of the individual's status. Permanent resident status doesn't expire, even if the card does—and is only lost through formal government action," Bailey said.
The Trump administration has revoked visas and green cards of foreign students that they have alleged are connected to pro-Hamas activities. This includes participating in campus protests and distributing materials, such as flyers.
The moves come amid an aggressive deportation agenda after President Donald Trump directed his administration to remove millions of undocumented immigrants as part of a hard line mass removal policy.
Beyond targeting those without legal status, immigrants with valid visas and green cards have also faced detention under the government's sweeping enforcement operations. Newsweek has documented numerous cases involving green-card holders and applicants being caught up in the immigration raids.
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San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Carrying the torch': WWII soldier who died in prison camp in Philippines identified, buried in S.F.
During a routine visit to his parents' home in San Jose this past November, Eric Ulrich began to tackle a mound of mail, boxes and old packages that had accumulated over the past few weeks. As he sorted through a pile stacked high of envelopes and loose paper, Ulrich came across a FedEx package labeled with a return address from Fort Knox, Ky. 'U.S. Army,' read the envelope addressed to his father Gerald, Ulrich recalled. Confused as to why his 89-year-old father was receiving mail from the Army, Ulrich opened the package. Inside was a message from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or the DPAA — the federal agency tasked with recovering missing military personnel and prisoners of war. The letter would kick off an eight-month journey that culminated in an emotional ceremony Friday at the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio. Cpl. Ernest Ulrich, a World War II soldier who died in the Philippines after being subjected to the brutal Bataan Death March, was finally laid to rest in the U.S. after 80 years of being labeled 'Unknown.' For several weeks, the DPAA had been trying to notify Ulrich's father that recent dental and DNA testing had identified the remains of an unknown World War II soldier as belonging to Cpl. Ulrich — the half-brother of Ulrich's paternal grandfather, or his father's uncle. 'It was pretty incredible,' Ulrich told the Chronicle, but 'I had no idea who this person was.' No one had ever mentioned him, not even his grandfather — a World War I veteran who would often tell his grandchildren stories far beyond their years. When Ulrich reached out to the DPAA phone number listed at the bottom of the letter, he learned that the path to his great uncle's identification involved several burials and subsequent exhumations, spanned two countries separated by the Pacific Ocean and took over 80 years. Cpl. Ulrich, who was from China, Texas, served in the medical department of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment during World War II, the DPAA told Ulrich (and later shared in a news release). After enlisting in March 1941, Cpl. Ulrich was transported with the rest of the 200th to the Philippines in October. When Japanese forces invaded the islands that December, the regiment provided ground support through several months of intense combat. Fighting continued until the United States surrendered the Bataan peninsula and Corregidor Island in the late spring of 1942. Japanese forces captured thousands of American and Filipino troops, including Cpl. Ulrich, as prisoners of war and subjected them to the 65-mile Bataan Death March, along with 78,000 others, toward the Cabanatuan POW Camp, DPAA officials said. Cpl. Ulrich, then 26, was admitted to the camp hospital for pellagra and beriberi — illnesses caused by vitamin deficiencies — as well as dysentery in September 1942, according to camp records cited by the DPAA in documents provided by Ulrich. He died of his illnesses on Nov. 22, 1942, according to camp records and other historical evidence. Cpl. Ulrich was buried in the camp's Common Grave 807, alongside several other servicemen. According to federal estimates, the camp saw upwards of 800 deaths per month and over 2,700 prisoners of war were buried in the camp cemeteries by 1945, when troops liberated the camp. After the war, American personnel relocated Cpl. Ulrich's remains from the Cabanatuan graves to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, where they were considered unidentifiable and labeled 'Unknown,' federal officials say. According to DPAA documents provided by Ulrich, federal investigators in the mid-1940s identified three service members from the same grave, but were unable to identify any others due to 'inconclusive' dental records and forensics. At the time, an expert anthropologist said the remains were 'jumbled beyond belief' and in 'such a state of deterioration that evidence on which identification depends had been largely obliterated.' At the end of the Vietnam War in 1973 the Department of Defense designated an agency to search for all missing personnel and prisoners of war. At its launch, the DPAA's predecessor estimated that nearly 73,700 American soldiers who fought in World War II were missing. Today, only about 1,800 of those missing soldiers, or roughly 2.4%, are accounted for. After finding sufficient evidence to exhume several unresolved cases in August 2014, DPAA excavated the remains of nine unknown soldiers associated with Common Grave 807 in late 2018, agency officials said. The remains were transported to the agency's testing site in Hawaii. The agency's scientists identified Cpl. Ulrich's remains by using dental, anthropological and historical evidence, while personnel from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner system confirmed the results by using Y-chromosome DNA analysis, officials said. Ulrich noted that the DPAA used a DNA sample from Cpl. Ulrich's nephew, Boyce Ulrich, who has since passed away after providing the sample. Of the 999 service members from Camp Cabanatuan who were originally deemed missing, only 117, or just under 12%, have been accounted for, according to federal estimates. Cpl. Ulrich's remains arrived in the Bay Area on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit aiming to support military families. Personnel performed military honors at Oakland International Airport upon his arrival. The family knows little about their long-lost uncle. They have no photographs and merely one faded memory of him. Ulrich's father told him he recalled visiting Cpl. Ulrich on Angel Island before the regiment left for the Pacific Theatre; at the time, his father was less than five years old, and didn't remember anything about his uncle. After the war ended, all the family knew was that Cpl. Ulrich died during the Bataan Death March, Ulrich said. 'I didn't think I would have cried for a great uncle who I didn't know, who died in 1942,' Eric Ulrich said, describing Cpl. Ulrich's arrival ceremony. 'But with everybody standing around, everybody thinking about the historical moment — there are thousands of people that are never going to have this moment.' Since hearing the details of his great uncle's story, Ulrich's goal has been 'to do the right thing for this gentleman that did his service to his country,' he said. 'My role is to try to facilitate and see this through.' Wanting to learn more about his newly found relative, Ulrich looked further into the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment and came across a book, titled 'Beyond Courage: One Regiment Against Japan, 1941-1945,' which detailed the experiences of a small group within the 200th regiment via first-hand accounts and archival research. Ulrich was particularly drawn to a moment in the book when the ship carrying the 200th passes under the Golden Gate Bridge, prompting one soldier to tell another that 'some of us won't see that bridge again.' The Ulrich family originally wished to bury Cpl. Ulrich next to his half-brother in Palo Alto, or in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno. But in telling the story of the 200th and the Golden Gate Bridge, the family secured a resting place at the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. The coveted resting place, reserved for military veterans and their spouses, is completely full, according to Greg Silva, funeral director and general manager of Twin Chapels Mortuary, Cpl. Ulrich's funeral home. All of its burial spots are either occupied or reserved for spouses. But a very select few of the reserved spots can sometimes become vacant due to spouses changing their plans or other extraordinary circumstances, Silva explained. 'We got lucky,' he noted. 'To have him return back to San Francisco to be buried at the Presidio in the last place he saw before he left America (is) amazing,' Ulrich said, 'It's a celebration of this man who has paid his dues.' Under a partly sunny sky Friday, with the Golden Gate Bridge peaking through the fog, Cpl. Ulrich's remains arrived in the Presidio, just a couple miles away from where he was over 80 years ago. Surrounded by a new generation of family members, almost all of whom were born after he passed, Cpl. Ulrich received a full military honors ceremony that included a playing of military taps, a six-gun salute and an emotional flag-folding ceremony. For Ulrich's wife, Marti, the celebration was the 'feel-good, happy ending' to a long journey of 'picking up the pieces and carrying the torch.' 'This whole process has been something else,' Marti Ulrich said at the ceremony. 'To see it finally come full circle — the pieces of the puzzle just kept falling into place.' One war and 80 years later, Cpl. Ulrich was laid into the ground on the northern side of the cemetery, with a picture-perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge.


Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Husband Blocks Wife's One-on-One Time With Their Child, Reason Sparks Fury
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A mother is appealing for advice online after she revealed her husband is discouraging her from spending one-on-one time with their biological child. The 32-year-old mom took to Reddit as ThrowRABetxxy this week to share that her 37-year-old husband wants her focus to stay on their two stepchildren, whose biological mother is no longer in the picture. Adoption Hopes The original poster (OP) described a blended household in which she has raised the children since they were very young. Despite her efforts to bond individually with each child—including dedicated time with the stepchildren doing what they love—she said her husband has been increasingly resistant to her doing the same with their shared biological child. "He does not want me to carve out this time for one-on-one time with our child like I do with my stepkids," the OP told Redditors. "He said he's hoping my stepkids will want to be adopted by me and to do that we need to focus on that relationship." Stock image: Couple arguing in silhouette. Stock image: Couple arguing in ThrowRABetxxy expressed concern that if her stepchildren never refer to her as "mom" or ask to be adopted, her husband might continue to deprioritize their shared child. "He acts like me spending time with just our child is somehow wrong," she said, adding that he refuses to attend couples therapy. Several Reddit users responded with alarm, suggesting the father's position might damage their biological child's sense of self and security. "You need to make time for your bio kid and that's a non-negotiable if he wants the marriage to work," one supporter advised. "Because if this is hill to die on, you will get more time with your kid in the divorce and you will spend no time with your step kids." Husband's Shift Another person offered their opinion: "So he wants you to eventually alienate your bio child and favor your stepchildren. The easy answer is to just tell him no and stick to it." The OP said the couple's previous conversations with the children's therapists had emphasized letting the children lead in determining how they see her, including correcting others who call her "mom." She said they were advised not to pressure the kids, or demonize their biological mother, a path the husband now seems to want to shift away from without openly admitting it. Psychologist Patricia Papernow, an award-winning expert on blended families and author, told Newsweek that from both research and her own clinical experience, it is, "very clear that BOTH warm, strong, parent-child relationships and positive stepparent-child relationships are important in stepfamilies. "Their 'ours' child definitely needs time with her mommy (and daddy)," Papernow continued, "And her stepdaughter needs to feel still welcome and part of the family. "And one of the very best ways to build a relationship with her stepdaughter is to spend one-to-one time with her doing fun things they both enjoy. BOTH are important. "I don't know how this got framed as either/or—either my child or my stepchild. It's both!" The emotional toll on their marriage may stem in part from a lack of communication. In another interview with Newsweek, dating coach Sabrina Zohar pointed to the value of asking, "Do you want comfort, or solutions?" as a way to support partners during hard conversations. "You're allowing your partner to feel seen, heard and understood," Zohar said. Marital Test User ThrowRABetxxy admitted that she feels isolated in their parenting decisions and confused by her husband's resistance. The mom replied in the thread that she will try therapy again and see if he will join her. "I guess it gives me a pretty firm answer about how this will go if he won't show up," she remarked. Newsweek has contacted ThrowRABetxxy for comment via Reddit. Newsweek's "What Should I Do?" offers expert advice to readers. If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on WSID at Newsweek. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.


Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
He Was Out of Time at the Shelter—Then a Family Showed Up
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. For Scotty, a young puppy facing a grim fate, time was running out. He was on the euthanasia list at a kill shelter in southern Illinois due to overcrowding until the Iroquois County Animal Rescue (ICARe) stepped in at the eleventh hour. Volunteers there pulled him and his sister from the brink and set them on a path to a forever home. In a Facebook post, ICARe recounted the success story. Margaret Fox, 51, president of ICARe, told Newsweek about the sense of responsibility she felt in rescuing the pup, named Scotty, from his near-fate. Stock image: A boy hugs a black-and-white dog outside. Stock image: A boy hugs a black-and-white dog outside. romrodinka/Getty Images "Scotty was adopted today!" ICARe wrote in a Facebook post. "He was on the euthanasia list at a kill shelter, so we grabbed him up at the last minute and it didn't take long for him to find a wonderful family!" Fox recounted the urgent situation that led to Scotty's rescue. "On June 18, I received an urgent email from … the transport coordinator for all of the Animal Control facilities in southern Illinois," she said. The email stated that Scotty, his sister Tabby and two other littermates "had a date scheduled for euthanasia—and they most definitely would be killed for space if a rescue did not commit to pull them that day." Despite her own shelter being full, Fox's immediate response was unequivocal. "I immediately agreed to take all four puppies, even though our shelter was full at the time," Fox said. "I could not let these babies be killed and felt an immediate sense of responsibility for their lives." Fortunately, another shelter also committed to saving some of the litter. So, the litter was split between the two rescues—and ICARe got Scotty and his sister, Tabby—who has now been renamed as Mocha. The puppies' journey to a new life began with the dedication of volunteers. "The pups went directly from transport to one of our amazing volunteer foster families," Fox said. "They have fostered countless dogs and puppies for us and were gracious enough to take these pups into their home at the last minute." Once settled with their foster family, the crucial next steps for their health and well-being commenced. A vet exam was scheduled, along with spaying and neutering, vaccinations and deworming. Remarkably, just two days after the comprehensive veterinary care, Scotty found his forever home. "Just two days later, Scotty was adopted by a PetSmart employee," Fox said, "and we were informed that the [foster family's] adult daughter Delaney was interested in adopting his sister." The news brought immense relief to the rescue team. "We were overjoyed at this news and that both pups were able to be in their forever home so soon after rescue," Fox said. Scotty and his siblings' ordeal began tragically. Their original intake paperwork said that the puppies were taken into care in May after being dumped outside the ICARe building. "How extremely sad it is to think of these babies being discarded like trash," Fox said. This heartwarming story underscores the critical role of animal rescues and foster families in saving vulnerable lives. For animals facing euthanasia due to overcrowding, a last-minute rescue is their only hope—and Fox said she was proud to play a part. "I am very thankful to be able to have played a small part in their rescue journey to a happily ever after," she added.