A green card renewal lawyer Maryland residents call when a 10-year card will expire, is lost, or no longer matches a legal name. Most people file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, online or by mail. The lawyer’s job is to pick the right reason, pay the right fee, and keep your work and travel proof in order while USCIS prints the new card.
Talk with a Maryland green card renewal lawyer
This is a planning guide, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Confirm the current form edition and fee on USCIS before you file, and ask a lawyer about your own card.
What a green card renewal lawyer Maryland clients actually use
The search is usually about a person, not a form. You want someone who will look at the card in your hand and say which filing fits. Jose R. Campos, the firm’s founder, handles immigration under federal law from the Wheaton, Maryland office at 2122 University Blvd W, and from Fairfax, Virginia. The firm works in English and Spanish.
A useful first meeting covers four things, and you should leave with a clear filing plan rather than a stack of forms.
- Whether your card is a 10-year card or a two-year conditional card.
- Whether you are renewing, replacing a lost card, or fixing a name or date.
- Whether a criminal case, a long trip abroad, or a pending naturalization filing changes the plan.
- What you should carry for work and travel while the new card is printing.
The green card replacement and renewal service page lists who must replace a card. This guide is the step before that list: how to choose the lawyer and how to get the filing ready in Maryland.
Renewal, replacement, and a two-year card are not the same filing
People say “renewal” for three different problems. USCIS treats them differently. Filing the wrong form can get the packet rejected, and the clock on a conditional card does not pause while you sort it out.
| Your situation | Usual form | What a lawyer checks first |
|---|---|---|
| 10-year card expired, or expiring within six months | Form I-90 | File early enough to get a receipt you can show with the old card. |
| Card lost, stolen, damaged, or never received | Form I-90 | Police report or mailing proof, and whether you still have status evidence. |
| Legal name change, or a USCIS error on the card | Form I-90 | Court order or the exact error. Some USCIS errors have no fee. |
| Two-year conditional card from marriage | Form I-751, not I-90 | File to remove conditions, usually in the 90 days before the card expires. |
| You may already qualify for citizenship | Form N-400, sometimes plus I-90 | Naturalization does not replace the duty to carry valid status proof. |
USCIS is direct about the conditional-card trap. Do not use Form I-90 to remove conditions. A marriage-based conditional resident files Form I-751, and an investor files Form I-829. The Form I-90 page says so in those words. If your card is valid for two years, start with the firm’s removal of conditions page instead of a renewal filing.
A 10-year card is different. USCIS says you must replace it when it is expired or will expire within six months. The same duty applies when the card was lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed. It also applies when you received the card before age 14 and have turned 14, unless the card expires before you turn 16. A legal name change, or another biographic change, is a separate reason. Older cards with no expiration date, including Form I-151, also need a current card.
When to call before the card expires
Six months is the USCIS window, not a suggestion to wait until month five. A Maryland filing still goes to a USCIS lockbox or an online account, not to a local courthouse. Processing times move. Build in time for a biometrics notice, a request for evidence, and a trip you already booked.
Call sooner than six months if any of these are true for you or for a family member who lives with you.
- You need to travel outside the United States and your card will expire before you return.
- Your employer has asked for an unexpired card and you do not have a receipt yet.
- The card was lost or stolen and you have no other photo ID that shows your status.
- You turned 14 and the card you received as a child will not expire before you turn 16.
- You changed your name through a court and the card still shows the old name.
- You have a criminal case in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC. A charge can affect status even when the card itself is still valid. The firm also handles criminal defense, so one office can look at both.
You do not lose permanent residence only because the plastic card expired. You do lose an easy way to prove it. USCIS says a permanent resident must carry a valid, unexpired green card, or an equivalent document, at all times. Applying for citizenship does not remove that duty. The citizenship page is the right next read if you are close to naturalization and want to know whether to file Form N-400 as well.
What the I-90 receipt does for work and travel
For a true renewal of an expiring or expired 10-year card, the receipt matters as much as the new card. On September 10, 2024, USCIS began extending that card for 36 months from the date printed on it. The extension applies when a person properly files Form I-90 to renew. Older receipts said 24 months. Shown with the expired card, the current receipt is evidence of status and of work authorization. USCIS says you remain authorized to work and travel.
Read the notice before you rely on it. The 36-month language is for renewal receipts. A receipt for a lost, stolen, or damaged card is not the same document. If you no longer have the card, ask about an ADIT stamp (a temporary I-551 stamp) in your passport after you file. That appointment is scheduled through USCIS. A lawyer can tell you which proof you can actually hand an employer or an airline.
Keep these papers in one folder while you wait, and take the folder to any job or travel check.
- The Form I-90 receipt notice.
- The expired card, if you still have it.
- Your passport and any reentry permit.
- A copy of the biometrics appointment notice.
- Any request for evidence and your response.
Check the case in your USCIS online account. The account is also where you update your address. If you move within Maryland, tell USCIS. A card mailed to an old Wheaton or Silver Spring address is a common reason people need a second filing.
Fees, filing method, and what this firm does not quote
The government fee is not the lawyer’s fee. USCIS publishes the filing fee on Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, and the USCIS fee calculator is the number to trust on the day you pay. Summaries of the October 16, 2026 edition of that schedule put the general Form I-90 fee at $415 online and $465 by mail. Some reasons, including certain USCIS errors and some cards replaced after a 14th birthday, have no fee. Confirm your reason in the calculator. A wrong fee gets the form rejected.
There is often a $50 discount for filing online, and a separate biometrics fee is generally not added to a current I-90. Paper filings are paid by card (Form G-1450) or by bank withdrawal (Form G-1650), not by a personal check, unless you qualify for an exemption. Online filing lets you pay in the account, see when USCIS receives the form, get updates, and answer a request for evidence in the same place.
Use the current form edition. The I-90 edition date listed by USCIS is 01/20/25. Every page must be from that same edition or USCIS may reject the packet.
The Law Offices of Campos & Associates does not publish an immigration fee or a free-consultation promise for this work. Ask for the scope and the fee when you call. Car-accident and bankruptcy consultations follow different rules and are not the price for an I-90.
How to choose the lawyer, and what to bring
Maryland has many immigration listings. A renewal file is narrower than a first green card. You are not applying for status from scratch. You are proving you still have it and that the card should be reissued. The adjustment of status page is for people getting a green card for the first time. Skip it if you already have the card.
Ask these questions before you hire anyone, and write down the answers in the meeting.
- Will you file Form I-90, or do I need Form I-751 or Form N-400 instead?
- Which fee applies to my reason, and who confirms it on the USCIS calculator the day we file?
- Will the receipt extend my card for 36 months, or do I need an ADIT stamp because I do not have the card?
- Who watches the online account for a biometrics notice or a request for evidence?
- Do you handle the case in Spanish if I want the meeting in Spanish?
- Where do we meet, and can we use a live video appointment?
Bring the card if you have it, your passport, any name-change order, the address history USCIS has on file, and a short note of trips longer than six months. If a family member’s card is also expiring, each person files their own I-90. A parent’s renewal does not renew a child’s card.
The broader immigration practice also covers family petitions, work permits, asylum, and citizenship. A renewal visit is a good time to ask whether a spouse or child has a separate filing that should not wait. It is not a reason to fold those cases into the I-90.
A simple timeline for a Maryland renewal
Use this order. Dates move, so treat the months as a planning range and treat the USCIS online account as the real clock.
- Nine to six months before the card expires, pull the card, passport, and any court order. Compare the name and date of birth to your other ID.
- Ask whether the card is conditional. If it is a two-year card, stop and look at Form I-751.
- Meet the lawyer, in Wheaton, in Fairfax, or by live video. Confirm the I-90 reason and the fee on the calculator that week.
- File online if you can. Mail only with the current edition and an accepted payment form.
- Save the receipt the day it arrives. If you are renewing, read whether it extends the card for 36 months when shown with the expired card.
- Go to the biometrics appointment if USCIS schedules one. Baltimore-area applicants are often sent to an Application Support Center, not to the Wheaton office.
- Answer any request for evidence by the deadline on the notice.
- When the new card arrives, check every letter of the name and every digit of the date of birth before you travel.
If the card was mailed and never arrived, do not wait a year to ask. “Card never received” is its own I-90 reason, and the fee can differ from a normal renewal.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a green card renewal lawyer Maryland families hire if I can file online?
Many people with a straightforward 10-year renewal file online without a lawyer. Hire one if the card is lost, the name changed, you turned 14, you have trips over six months, you have a criminal case, or you are not sure whether the card is conditional. A rejected filing costs the fee and the months you needed for the receipt.
Can I keep working and flying after my green card expires?
If you properly filed Form I-90 to renew an expiring or expired card, the receipt notice plus that card can show status and work authorization for 36 months from the date on the card. That rule started for renewal receipts on September 10, 2024. It does not help if you never had the card or it was stolen. Ask about an ADIT stamp in those cases.
What if my green card is only valid for two years?
That is usually conditional residence, not a normal renewal. USCIS says not to file Form I-90 to remove conditions. File Form I-751 for a marriage-based card or Form I-829 for an investment card. Replacing a lost two-year card can still be an I-90, but removing the conditions is a different case.
Does filing for citizenship renew my green card?
No. USCIS says applying for naturalization does not change the rule that you carry a valid green card or an equivalent document. If the card will expire while Form N-400 is pending, ask whether you still need Form I-90. The two forms do different jobs.
How much does the firm charge for a Maryland green card renewal?
The firm does not publish an immigration attorney fee. The government fee is separate and is set by USCIS on Form G-1055. Call (240) 432-7249 or use the contact form and ask for the scope of an I-90 before you hire anyone.
If your 10-year card expires within six months, or you cannot find it, call the firm at (240) 432-7249 or send a message. You can also ask for a live video appointment. Bring the card if you have it. A short call can tell you whether you need Form I-90 or a different filing.