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Receiving the Green Card is, for most immigrants, the moment when the American dream stops being a temporary bet and becomes a genuine permanent home. Along with the green card comes a broad set of rights — but also a catalog of obligations that, if ignored, can cost you that very status. This guide organizes, in a single read, what a Lawful Permanent Resident can do and what they must do to preserve their hard-won status and, eventually, turn it into U.S. citizenship.
What It Means to Be a Permanent Resident
A Lawful Permanent Resident, or LPR, is a foreign national authorized to live and work in the United States indefinitely. The physical document that proves this status is the Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, commonly known as the Green Card after the green color of older versions. The status is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act, particularly INA sections 245 and 264, and administered by USCIS, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
The status is obtained upon approval of a petition based on family ties, employment, asylum, refugee status, the Diversity Visa Lottery, or specific humanitarian programs. Despite being called “permanent,” the Green Card is not unconditional: it can be lost through voluntary abandonment, a court order in removal proceedings, or administrative revocation in cases of fraud.
Rights of a Permanent Resident
An LPR enjoys virtually all civil rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, with the exception of the right to vote in federal elections and certain public positions reserved for citizens. The most relevant benefits in everyday life are:
Work Without a Sponsor
A permanent resident can work for any employer, in any state, in any lawful position, without the need for a visa petition, EAD, or additional authorization. The Green Card itself, combined with an accepted identity document, satisfies the Form I-9 required by every employer. This includes holding state and local government positions, starting a business, working as a freelancer, and practicing licensed professions, subject to each state’s licensing requirements.
Sponsoring Family Members
An LPR can petition for relatives in two Family Preference categories: F2A, covering spouses and unmarried children under 21, and F2B, covering unmarried children 21 and older. The priority dates for these categories are published monthly in the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin and typically advance more slowly than citizen-based categories, which makes naturalization a strategic tool for family reunification.
In-State Tuition
At public universities, an LPR is treated as an in-state resident for tuition purposes after meeting each state’s domicile requirement, generally 6 to 12 months. The difference compared to out-of-state tuition can be three or four times higher at competitive institutions. The Green Card also opens access to federal student aid via FAFSA, including Pell Grants and Direct Loans.
Gradual Access to Public Benefits
Under the PRWORA rule of 1996, permanent residents who received status after August 22, 1996 face a five-year waiting period for most means-tested federal benefits, such as Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, and SSI. Exceptions exist for refugees, asylees, military veterans, and children. After the waiting period, LPRs compete on terms close to those of U.S. citizens, subject to state rules.
International Mobility
The Green Card authorizes entry and exit from the United States without a visa, provided each trip lasts less than one year and that actual residence remains in the country. For planned absences between one and two years, the resident must apply for a Re-entry Permit using Form I-131 before departure, with a fee of $630 in effect since April 2024 and a maximum validity of two years.
Obligations of a Permanent Resident
The other side of the contract is the set of obligations that sustain the status. Failing to meet them can lead the LPR into removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Comply With All Laws
INA section 237 lists the conduct that makes an LPR removable. This includes crimes involving moral turpitude, aggravated felonies, controlled substance offenses (with a limited exception for 30 grams or less of cannabis for personal use), domestic violence, document fraud, and firearms-related offenses. Even seemingly minor infractions, such as petty theft, can be classified as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes and trigger mandatory deportation.
Maintain Actual Residence
The Green Card is issued to those who intend to live permanently in the United States. Absences exceeding six months are scrutinized and create a presumption of broken continuity for naturalization purposes. Absences exceeding one year without a Re-entry Permit create a strong presumption of abandonment and may prompt a CBP officer to initiate proceedings in immigration court. Signs of abandonment include closing U.S. bank accounts, selling property, taking long-term employment abroad, and moving the entire family to another country.
File and Pay Taxes as a Resident Alien
An LPR is automatically a resident alien under the Internal Revenue Code, regardless of how many days they spend in the United States during the year. This means reporting worldwide income, disclosing foreign bank accounts with an aggregate balance over $10,000 via FBAR (FinCEN 114), and complying with FATCA when foreign assets exceed the Form 8938 thresholds. Filing taxes as a nonresident is interpreted as abandonment of residence and carries serious immigration consequences.
Carry Evidence of Status
INA section 264 requires LPRs over 18 to carry evidence of their registration at all times. In practice, this means keeping the physical Green Card on hand, although many residents choose to carry an authenticated copy for daily use and keep the original at home.
Notify Address Changes
Every address change must be reported to USCIS via Form AR-11 within ten days. Submission is free and can be done online. Failure to comply is technically a federal misdemeanor and, while rarely prosecuted on its own, can complicate future applications.
Selective Service Registration
Males between 18 and 25, including permanent residents, must register with the Selective Service System. This registration is a prerequisite for naturalization, certain federal government positions, and student benefits.
Green Card Renewal
The card is valid for ten years and must be renewed using Form I-90. The fee, in effect since April 1, 2024, is $465 for paper filings and $415 when submitted online through a myUSCIS account. The application should be filed within the six months before expiration. Important: renewal only updates the document, not the status. Letting the card expire does not cause the loss of LPR status, but will make it difficult to prove employment eligibility, travel, and renew a driver’s license.
Conditional residents — those who received status through marriage to a U.S. citizen with less than two years of marriage, or through the EB-5 investor program — follow a different path: they must file Form I-751 or Form I-829 within the 90 days before the second anniversary of their status, or face automatic termination.
Path to Citizenship
The greatest benefit of the Green Card, from a legal standpoint, is that it opens the door to naturalization. The general rule requires five years as an LPR before applying, with at least 30 months of physical presence within that period and continuous residence without long absences. Spouses of U.S. citizens have a reduced three-year timeline. The application is filed using Form N-400, with a fee of $760 on paper and $710 online since April 2024. It includes an English test, a civics exam with 100 questions, an interview with a USCIS officer, and an Oath of Allegiance.
U.S. citizenship brings rights the Green Card does not: the right to vote in federal elections, a U.S. passport, consular protection, faster family sponsorship timelines, eligibility for sensitive federal jobs, and full protection against deportation for future crimes, except in cases of fraud in the naturalization process itself.
When Status Can Be Lost
Even a careful resident can see their Green Card challenged. The three most common paths to losing status are: presumed abandonment due to prolonged residence abroad; a criminal conviction that triggers removal under INA 237; and revocation for fraud discovered after the original petition was approved. In all cases, the LPR has the right to a hearing before an immigration judge, with the possibility of cancellation of removal in specific situations provided for under INA 240A.
Maintaining a Green Card is, at its core, a daily practice: actually living in the country, filing taxes, updating your address, avoiding legal trouble, and renewing the card on time. Those who do this not only preserve their status but also build the conditions for the next step — naturalization — which transforms earned residency into full legal belonging.
Victoria Harper
Editor-in-Chief
Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.
