Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched a mobile version of Form I-90, which makes it much easier for green card holders to apply for a replacement green card using their phone or tablet.
It’s been possible for some time now to file this form online—part of USCIS’ ongoing effort to expand online filing options and innovative services like the myUSCIS portal—but the newly mobile-optimized I-90 tool provides a more intuitive interface and promises to make it even easier to get a green card replaced.
Let’s have a look!
The first step is to create or sign in to your USCIS online account, and then you’ll see the I-90 filing option front and center:
You’re then presented with a series of clear and intuitive questions that provide USCIS with the information it needs in order to replace your green card (in the event the original was damaged/lost/stolen, or your expiration date is coming up soon):
One of the best features of the new mobile-friendly I-90 tool is that you can directly upload photos from your device. For example, when USCIS asks for a picture of your current green card or other ID, you can simply snap a photo on the fly:
Technical note: It can be tricky uploading a past photo from an iPhone’s Photo Library, because the USCIS tool doesn’t currently accept filenames with the underscore character—for example, “IMG_9999.png.” But this isn’t a problem if you just select “Take Photo” and snap a new picture.
Near the end of the process, USCIS presents a helpful fee summary and automatically checks your application for red flags:
Here are some other features we noticed:
- USCIS provides instant address validation through the U.S. Postal Service—the kind of helpful feature you’ve probably come to expect from Amazon and the like.
- Your responses are saved for 30 days, so you don’t have to finish the whole process in one sitting.
- That said, you may not need more than one sitting—this tool should enable most people to complete and submit the I-90 application within just a few minutes.
If you need to replace your green card, check out these step-by-step instructions from USCIS.
And kudos to USCIS for continuing to deliver user-centered and effective digital services!