Lawful permanent residents may receive temporary evidence of their lawful permanent resident status by post instead of having to go in person to a local office to receive an Alien Documentation, Identity and Telecommunications (ADIT) stamp (also known as a stamp I-551).

Lawful permanent residents are entitled to evidence of status and may require temporary evidence of this in the form of an ADIT stamp if:

• Do not have a Permanent Resident Card in their possession; either
• Your Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card); Form I-751, Petition to Cancel Conditions on Residence; o Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is still pending adjudication and your Permanent Resident Card and extension notice have expired.

When a lawful permanent resident calls the USCIS Contact Center to request temporary evidence of status, an immigration services officer will verify their identity, their mailing address, and whether that address can receive express mail deliveries from UPS or FedEx. She will then either schedule an in-person appointment for the permanent resident, if necessary, or submit a request to the local USCIS office to issue the ADIT stamp. If an in-person appointment is not needed, the local USCIS office will review the request for temporary evidence and mail the applicant a Form I-94 with ADIT stamp, DHS stamp, and a printed photograph of the lawful permanent resident obtained from USCIS systems.

USCIS may issue temporary evidence of status in the form of an ADIT stamp. USCIS determines whether the applicant should receive an ADIT stamp and has the discretion to determine the validity period based on permanent resident status (not to exceed one year, unless otherwise specified by regulation or policy).

Some permanent residents will still need to appear in person at a local USCIS office to receive temporary evidence of their status, including those who have urgent needs, do not have a usable photograph in USCIS systems, or whose address or identity cannot be confirmed.  

The new process will allow USCIS to issue temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status in a timely manner without requiring a local office appointment, thereby reducing the burden on our applicants and increasing the availability of local office resources.