Report a stolen card to the police, then file Form I-90 right away, because 8 CFR 264.1(c) requires you to apply for a replacement immediately. The fee is $465 on paper or $415 online. Once you file, USCIS may issue an ADIT stamp as temporary proof. A Plano green card replacement lawyer steps in when your record raises questions.
Faragalla Law is a Texas immigration firm headquartered at 5718 Westheimer Road, 1000-109, Houston, TX 77057. It handles green card replacements for permanent residents across Texas, and that includes Plano and the rest of Collin County. Founding attorney Sam Faragalla has been a member of the New York Bar since 1998. The team works with clients in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Did your card vanish in a move, a car break-in or a trip through the washer? Call Faragalla Law at (800) 707-3038 for a free consultation, any hour of any day.
First Steps After a Green Card Goes Missing in Plano
Two moves protect you most, a report and a filing. The green card replacement team at Faragalla Law starts every missing-card case where the regulation starts. Under 8 CFR 264.5(b)(1), a permanent resident whose card is lost, stolen or destroyed must apply for a replacement. That application is Form I-90.
Search hard before you file. Check the car, the gym bag and the folder where you keep your passport. USCIS says it issues no refunds if you withdraw an I-90, so a card that turns up next week costs you the fee. Once the search ends, take these steps in order.
- File a report with the Plano Police Department if the card was stolen, or if you want a written record of the loss.
- Find your A-Number on an old USCIS notice or a photocopy of the card, because the USCIS Contact Center asks for it.
- File Form I-90 online or by mail, and pick the reason that matches what happened to the card.
- Ask the USCIS Contact Center for help getting an ADIT stamp once the I-90 is filed.
- Tell any new employer that you will present a replacement receipt for Form I-9.
The order matters. USCIS ties the ADIT stamp to a filed I-90, and the employer receipt comes from that same filing. The sections below walk through each step as it plays out for Plano residents.
Filing a Report With the Plano Police Department
Plano takes many reports online, and you can print a copy of yours for free. Plano’s online police reporting system lists Lost Property and Theft (Under $2,500) among its incident types. It also takes Fraud reports, such as someone using your personal information to get a credit card or loan. To file, you need a valid state-issued ID or driver’s license number and a phone number. Our stolen green card replacement page covers what a theft adds to the case.
Lost Property or Theft Under $2,500
The right category depends on what you know. Plano defines lost property as property no longer in the owner’s possession, through accident or negligence, that cannot be located. Theft means someone took it without your consent. The city’s theft examples involve a locker or a shopping cart, where no one had to break into a home or building. A card taken in a break-in at your home does not fit that online category, so call the department.
When the Online System Does Not Fit
Plano screens out reports that need an officer. The online form is not for an incident outside city limits, one with suspect information, or one with physical evidence to collect. It is also not for an emergency or anything still in progress. If a roommate or coworker took the card, you have a known suspect, and the city asks you to call instead. A card lost at a Dallas restaurant falls outside Plano city limits, so the Plano form is the wrong place for it.
Your Federal Duty to Replace and Carry the Card
A missing card is not something to put off. Under 8 CFR 264.1(c), anyone whose registration document is unavailable for any reason must immediately apply for a replacement. A separate statute, 8 U.S.C. 1304(e), requires every permanent resident 18 or older to carry the card at all times. Failing to carry it is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.
Filing fast also gives you something to carry. USCIS ties temporary proof of status to a filed application, so every week of delay is a week with nothing in your wallet. How an officer handles a missing card during a stop turns on the facts, and those facts are worth a lawyer’s review.
How Form I-90 Works for a Lost, Stolen or Damaged Green Card
Form I-90 is the application USCIS uses to replace a Permanent Resident Card. USCIS lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and takes the form online or by mail. Paper filings go to the USCIS lockbox at P.O. Box 21262 in Phoenix. USCIS rejects an unsigned form. It also rejects a form missing your family name, mailing address or date of birth.
The fee comes from 8 CFR 106.2(a)(1), which sets $465 to replace a lost, mutilated or destroyed card. Under 8 CFR 106.1(g), filing online costs $50 less, so $415. USCIS’s online fee calculator showed those same two figures on November 2, 2026. Processing time is another matter. It depends on USCIS workloads and on your own file, so no lawyer can promise a delivery date.
Matching the Replacement Reason to What Happened
Pick the reason on the form that describes what happened to the card, because each reason carries its own rules. The regulation at 8 CFR 264.5(b) lists them, and USCIS’s fee calculator prices them. Here is how the common reasons for a missing or ruined card compare.
- A lost, stolen or destroyed card costs $465 on paper or $415 online, and there is no card to send.
- A mutilated card costs the same, and the damaged card itself must be surrendered to USCIS.
- A card USCIS issued that came back to the agency as undeliverable costs $0, according to USCIS’s fee calculator.
- A card printed with wrong information because of a DHS error also costs $0.
Some applicants can ask for a fee waiver on Form I-912. Whether you qualify depends on that form’s criteria and your own finances, which a lawyer can check before you pay.
A Damaged Card Goes Back to USCIS
Do not throw away a card that went through the wash or snapped in half. Under 8 CFR 264.5(e)(1), the prior card must be surrendered when you replace a mutilated card. The same surrender rule covers a name change and a card with a USCIS error. Our damaged green card replacement page covers cards that are cracked, faded or unreadable.
A Card USCIS Mailed That Never Reached You
A card that never arrived is its own ground under 8 CFR 264.5(b)(7). The fee rule, 8 CFR 106.2(a)(1)(i), lists no fee when a card was issued but never received. USCIS’s fee calculator words its $0 row more narrowly, covering a card returned to USCIS as undeliverable. Check the card delivery tracking link on the I-90 page before you pay. If the tracking record and the fee row do not line up, have a lawyer look at it first.
Conditional Residents and the 90-Day Line
A two-year card follows a different rule. Under 8 CFR 264.5(d), a conditional resident may use Form I-90 for a lost, stolen or destroyed card when the card is not expiring within 90 days. Inside that window, the rule points to a petition to remove conditions. A marriage-based resident files Form I-751 under 8 CFR 216.4. An investor files Form I-829 under 8 CFR 216.6. USCIS’s I-90 page also tells conditional residents not to use the form to remove conditions. Our removal of conditions page covers that petition.
Biometrics Appointments for Plano ZIP Codes
USCIS may need your fingerprints and photo again. If it does, it mails a biometrics appointment notice with the time and place. USCIS says the I-90 receipt notice is not that notice, so the receipt alone does not tell you where to go. For Plano ZIP code 75074, USCIS’s locator lists the Dallas North Application Support Center at 10051 Whitehurst Drive, Suite 200, in Dallas. Your own notice controls, so check its address before you plan the trip.
How Do You Prove Permanent Resident Status While the Replacement Is Pending?
An ADIT stamp does that job, and USCIS may issue one after you file Form I-90. USCIS says so on its page about replacing a green card. The rule behind it is 8 CFR 264.5(h), which lets USCIS issue temporary evidence of status to a resident who has properly filed for a replacement card.
Do not lean on the receipt notice instead. USCIS publishes the wording it prints on renewal receipts, and that wording gives 36 months of proof only together with your expired card. A resident whose card is gone has nothing to pair it with. The wait for the new card depends on USCIS and on your file, and nobody outside the agency controls it.
Getting an ADIT Stamp at the USCIS Dallas Field Office in Irving
Start with the USCIS Contact Center, which USCIS names as the place to get help obtaining an ADIT stamp. Field offices do not take walk-ins, so any visit needs an appointment. For Plano ZIP codes 75023, 75024, 75025, 75074, 75075, 75093 and 75094, USCIS’s field office locator points to the Dallas Field Office. That office sits at 6500 Campus Circle Drive East in Irving. USCIS decides whether to issue the stamp at the visit.
The stamp can go in your foreign passport or on a Form I-94 with your photo, the two versions the Form I-9 and Texas DPS rules name. Under 8 CFR 264.5(h), you surrender temporary evidence once the new card arrives, unless USCIS placed it in your passport.
Starting a New Plano Job Before the New Card Arrives
Your new employer has to accept a receipt in place of the card. Under 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(vi)(A), an employer must accept a receipt for an application to replace a document that was lost, stolen or damaged. Your I-90 receipt notice is that receipt. USCIS’s I-9 Central guidance then sets firm limits on how long it works and what comes next. Plan your start date around them.
The 90-Day Receipt Window
The receipt lasts 90 days from your first day of work for pay. USCIS says an employer cannot accept a receipt at all if the job will last less than 3 days. At the end of the window, the employer cannot accept a second receipt. The employer writes “Receipt” and the document title in Section 2, then updates the form when you show the real document.
What You Can Show When Day 90 Comes First
A replacement card does not always arrive in 90 days, and USCIS admits as much, citing document delays. Its guidance lets you present other acceptable documents within the 90 days instead. The employer then completes a new Section 2, attaches it to the original Form I-9 and notes the reason. You have two ways to meet the rule.
Another List A Document Such as a Stamped Passport
One List A document covers both identity and work permission. USCIS’s List A includes a foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, which is the ADIT stamp from the Irving visit. A Form I-94 with the stamp and your photo also works as a List A receipt. For Form I-9 purposes, it lasts until the stamp’s expiration date, or one year from issuance if the stamp has none.
A Texas Driver License Plus an Unrestricted Social Security Card
The other route pairs one List B document with one List C document. A driver’s license issued by a state with your photo is on List B. A Social Security card without employment restrictions is on List C. If you hold both, you can finish the I-9 without waiting on USCIS.
Renewing a Texas Driver License Without Your Green Card
Texas DPS checks lawful presence with DHS before it issues a license or ID card. Its guide, Form DL-53, Verifying Lawful Presence, lists what a lawful permanent resident may present. An I-90 receipt notice is not on that list. These documents are.
- A Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, is the standard document.
- An unexpired foreign passport with an ADIT stamp also qualifies.
- A Form I-94 stamped with temporary I-551 language qualifies too.
- A reentry permit, Form I-327, appears on the same list.
DPS asks applicants to renew at least 30 days before expiration, because DHS verification takes time. If your license expires soon and your card is gone, the Irving appointment comes first.
When Should You Call a Plano Green Card Replacement Lawyer?
Call before you file if anything in your history could draw questions, and call right away if USCIS denies the I-90. Under 8 CFR 264.5(f), no appeal lies from a denied replacement application. USCIS says your options are a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider, filed with the office that denied it. Under 8 CFR 106.2(a)(16), the Form I-290B for that motion costs $800.
Most lost-card filings are routine. These situations are not, and each one turns on facts a lawyer has to read in your own file.
- You have an arrest or a conviction since your card was issued, so any new filing deserves a review of your record first.
- Your legal name changed since the card was issued, and 8 CFR 264.5(e)(2) requires evidence such as a court order or marriage certificate.
- You hold a two-year card within 90 days of expiring, which moves the filing to Form I-751, or Form I-829 for an investor.
- You may already qualify to naturalize, and USCIS suggests checking that before you file Form I-90.
That last group has a second option. Under 8 CFR 264.5(h), USCIS may also issue temporary evidence to a resident who has properly filed for naturalization. Our Plano naturalization lawyer page explains that path, and whether it beats a replacement depends on your eligibility dates.
Lost Green Card Questions From Plano Permanent Residents
These questions tend to come up after the police report is filed and the I-90 is on its way. Each answer names its source so you can check it yourself. Your own dates and documents can change the answer, so treat each one as a starting point for a conversation.
Can I File Form I-90 Online for a Lost Card?
Yes. USCIS accepts Form I-90 through a USCIS online account, and the online fee is $415. A fee waiver is the exception, since USCIS says most forms cannot carry a waiver request online. That request goes on paper with Form I-912.
What if My Old Card Turns Up After I File?
You can withdraw the I-90 with a written request to the Texas Service Center at 6046 N Belt Line Rd., Ste. 114, in Irving. USCIS says it will not refund the fee. Whether to withdraw or let the replacement finish is worth a quick call first.
What Should Someone Do if They Find My Green Card?
Under 8 CFR 264.1(d), a person who finds someone else’s registration document must forward it to a USCIS office. That rule covers a card found in a Plano parking lot as much as one found anywhere else. Waiting for a stranger to return it is not a plan, so file the I-90.
Do I Have to Update My Address While the I-90 Is Pending?
Yes. USCIS says that if you move, you must update your address through your USCIS online account or on Form AR-11. USCIS mails its notices and updates on a paper filing, so a stale address can leave you without them.
Talk With a Plano Green Card Replacement Lawyer at Faragalla Law
A lost card becomes a work problem, a license problem and a legal duty in the same week. A Plano green card replacement lawyer at Faragalla Law can prepare the I-90, help you request the Irving appointment and tell you what your employer can accept. The result depends on your record and on USCIS, and no lawyer can guarantee how the agency will rule.
Call Faragalla Law at (800) 707-3038 for a free consultation. The line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The team works in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Prefer to write first? Send a short note about what happened to your card through the firm’s contact page. For other Collin County filings, the Plano immigration attorney page lists what the firm handles.