Undeliverable Permanent Resident and Employment Authorization Cards and Travel Documents to be Destroyed After 60 Days

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, starting April 2, 2018, USCIS will destroy Permanent Resident Cards, Employment Authorization Cards, and Travel Documents that were returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service after 60 business days if USCIS is not contacted by the document’s intendent recipient to provide the correct address. Applicants can check the status of their application on the case status website here, or by calling USCIS’ customer service hotline, 1-800-375-5283. While checking status, applicants should have their application receipt, a Form I-797 C, on hand to provide the receipt number to the agents.

USCIS requires applicants to report a change of address within 10 days of relocation using the USCIS website here, and to ensure the address submitted to USCIS is correct. The new policy of destroying cards after 60 days is a significant change from the previous 180 days allowed. It is also important to note that, after USCIS destroys the cards, application fees will not be refunded, and any new application would require another application fee. Please click here to learn more Permanent Residency, Employment Authorization Cards, and travelling while a Green Card or immigrant application is pending.