07-07-2025
Green Card Replacement Processing Time Surges Nearly 1,000 Percent
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The processing time for I-90 forms, the applications used to either renew or replace permanent resident cards, increased by nearly 1,000 percent in the second quarter of FY2025, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Newsweek reached out to USCIS for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The immigration system in the United States is overwhelmed—there are more than 3.7 million cases in the immigration courts, and USCIS is also facing a bureaucratic backlog in terms of processing applications, including for the I-90. Green card holders must fill out the form every 10 years to renew their green card or in the case that theirs is damaged or lost.
The median time it took to process I-90 forms jumped from less than a month to more than eight months in the second quarter, according to data released by USCIS last month.
What to Know
From January 1 to March 31, 2025, the processing time for I-90 forms averaged 8.3 months, according to USCIS data. This is a notable uptick from the fourth quarter of 2024—from October 1 to December 31, 2024—when the median processing time was only 0.8 months.
USCIS defines the processing time as the "number of months it took for an application, petition, or request to be processed from receipt to completion in a given time period." The median represents the time it took to complete 50 percent of all cases processed in the quarter.
A stock image shows an envelope from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
A stock image shows an envelope from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Evgenia Parajanian/iStock via Getty Images
The USCIS office's website states that 80 percent of cases for "initial issuance or replacements" for I-90 are completed within 21.5 months, while 80 percent of cases for the 10-year renewal are completed within 12.5 months.
USCIS received more than 285,000 I-990 forms from January through March, compared to roughly 189,000 from October through December of last year. There were more than 356,000 pending applications at the end of the second quarter, compared to 265,000 pending applications at the end of the first quarter.
The processing time has swung back and forth in the past few years. In FY2024, it took about 1.1 months on average for I-90s to be processed, down from 9.1 months in 2023. In 2022, The processing time averaged 1.2 months in 2022 and 5.2 months in 2021.
USCIS announced in September 2024 that the validity of green cards would be extended to 36 months for lawful permanent residents amid the processing backlog.
What People Are Saying
Niskanen Center analyst Cecilia Esterline wrote to X (formerly Twitter) on July 1: "I-90 applications for a replacement green card had the sharpest increase in median processing time: 938% over Q1. In both FY2024 Q2 and FY2025 Q1, its median processing time was approx. 0.8 months. By the end of FY2025 Q2, it was more than 8 months."
USCIS said in September when announcing the validity extension: "These receipt notices can be presented with an expired Green Card as evidence of continued status and employment authorization. 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."
What Happens Next
President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration upon his return to office and has pledged mass deportations, and many green card holders have been impacted by his immigration enforcement.
