How do you get a Permanent Resident Card in the United States in 2026?

If you adjust status inside the United States, USCIS usually mails an approval notice first, then a welcome notice, then the Permanent Resident Card to the address on file. If you consular process abroad, you enter with an immigrant visa; Customs and Border Protection admits you as a permanent resident and USCIS later mails the card. Status begins when residence is granted, even before the plastic arrives. Temporary evidence such as an approval notice or passport stamp can bridge work and travel until the card shows up.

Keep your mailing address current with USCIS so Priority Mail delivery succeeds. If you move before the card ships, update your address with USCIS. Use USCIS secure-document tracking and the Contact Center or an e-Request if the welcome notice or card does not arrive within the windows USCIS publishes after approval.

File Form I-90 online or by mail when you already are an LPR and need a new card: the 10-year card is expired or will expire within six months; it was lost, stolen, damaged, or never received; biographic data changed; or an older alien registration card must be replaced. Conditional permanent residents on a two-year card generally use Form I-751 (marriage-based) or Form I-829 (investor-based) to remove conditions near expiry, not I-90 as a substitute for that petition. USCIS warns conditional residents not to use I-90 to “renew” a card that is about to expire within 90 days when conditions still apply.

A properly filed I-90 receipt notice, presented with the expired card, can serve as evidence of status and work authorization for the extension period USCIS prints on that notice (currently up to 36 months from the card’s face expiration). That receipt is not a substitute for maintaining residence and filing when eligible.

After the card arrives, many newcomers finish Social Security number setup if it is still pending, then keep the card with travel documents. Citizenship is a later step: apply for US citizenship.