If you ask “Can I renew my green card with 2 DUIs?”, the usual answer is yes. You can still file Form I-90 to replace an expiring card. Renewal replaces the card and does not decide again whether you qualify as a permanent resident. The card’s expiration does not end your permanent resident status, which lasts until a formal legal action, such as a final removal order, ends it.
The real risk lies in the background check. For Form I-90, USCIS may take your fingerprints and photo and run background and security checks, including FBI criminal history records, so both DUI arrests will likely appear. The question is whether either case fits a category that makes a permanent resident deportable, meaning removable from the United States by an immigration judge. Through its green card renewal practice, Faragalla Law can check both DUI files before you submit anything.
Do Two DUIs Make a Green Card Holder Deportable?
Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act does not list driving under the influence as its own deportation ground. The listed categories include aggravated felonies, crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance offenses, firearm offenses, and domestic violence or child abuse crimes. A DUI can still fall into one of those crimes that can lead to removal depending on the statute and the facts, so no DUI is automatically safe.
Specific facts change the analysis. A DUI involving drugs raises the question of whether the conviction relates to a controlled substance. A child passenger, an injury or an enhanced charge also calls for a close look at the exact statute of conviction.
Texas raises the stakes with each case, and state law calls the offense driving while intoxicated, or DWI. Under the Penal Code, a first DWI is usually a Class B misdemeanor. A second is generally a Class A misdemeanor with at least 30 days in jail. A third DWI is a third degree felony, and driving while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15 is a state jail felony.
Class A misdemeanors carry up to one year in jail, and the moral turpitude deportation ground asks whether a court could impose a sentence of one year or longer. In Matter of Torres-Varela, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that an Arizona aggravated DUI based on two or more prior DUI convictions was not a crime involving moral turpitude. A simple DWI, even a repeat one, is generally not treated as a moral turpitude crime, but facts like driving on a license you know is suspended can change that.
How Two DUIs Affect Travel and Future Citizenship
The bigger hurdle often comes later, at naturalization. In Matter of Castillo-Perez, the Attorney General held that two or more DUI convictions during the relevant period create a presumption that a person lacks good moral character. The applicant needs substantial, credible contrary evidence to overcome it. Federal rules separately bar anyone who was a habitual drunkard during the statutory period.
The N-400 tells applicants to report every offense, including driving under the influence. USCIS also will not approve naturalization while you remain on probation.
Picture a permanent resident in Houston whose second DWI probation ended two years ago. That person could usually renew the card without new questions about the DWIs. A citizenship application filed the same year could face the Castillo-Perez presumption if both convictions fall within the statutory period.
Trips abroad carry a separate risk. Federal law treats a returning permanent resident as seeking admission once that person has committed an offense in the criminal inadmissibility grounds. Those grounds include two or more convictions of any kind with total sentences to confinement of five years or more.
How Do I Renew My Green Card With 2 DUIs on My Record?
Start by collecting certified court records for both cases, including the charging documents, the judgments and proof you completed each sentence. Form I-90 asks whether you have ever been in removal proceedings and whether you ever gave up your status or a judge found you abandoned it. Answer every question truthfully.
File when your card has expired or will expire within six months, since that is the renewal reason the form provides. An expired card does not end your right to work, because federal rules say the date on the card only means you must renew the card. Conditional residents with two-year cards use a different form to remove conditions and should not file Form I-90 for that purpose.
For example, picture a permanent resident in Fort Worth whose card expires in four months. That person has two misdemeanor DWIs that ended in probation, so gathering both judgments and the probation completion records before filing makes sense. Those papers answer questions quickly if USCIS or a future officer asks.
If either DUI involved drugs, a child, an injury or a felony charge, get a legal review before filing. If a case ever reaches immigration court, Faragalla Law handles it through its removal defense practice.
Official Sources on DUIs and Permanent Resident Status
The Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Castillo-Perez, 27 I&N Dec. 664 (A.G. 2019) sets the two DUI presumption for good moral character. Matter of Torres-Varela, 23 I&N Dec. 78 (BIA 2001), addresses repeat DUI offenses and moral turpitude.
Federal regulations at 8 CFR 1.2 define permanent residence and provide that a final administrative order of removal ends it. Section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. 1227, lists the criminal deportation grounds. Renewal rules come from the Form I-90 instructions, and Texas DWI penalties appear in Chapter 49 of the Texas Penal Code.
Plan Your Green Card Renewal With a Houston Immigration Firm
If you need to renew your green card with 2 DUIs on your record, Faragalla Law can review both cases, your travel plans and your citizenship timeline before you file.
A free consultation starts with a call to (800) 707-3038, and having both case numbers handy speeds up the review.
You may also contact Faragalla Law online and include the dates and outcomes of both DUI cases.