Instructions For Form I-829 - Uscis: Fill & Download for Free

You’re in a bit of a pickle. An airline may let your board with an expired green card and proof that you have been out of the US for less than a year. However, because it’s the airline’s butt on the line if you are denied entry to the US, many will not out of an abundance of caution and to protect their bottom line. So what now? You will need to get a travel letter from a US embassy or consulate.From the instructions for USCIS form I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation):If you are an LPR with an expired Green CardIf you have an expired Green Card, you may not need to file Form I-131A. Although regulations generally require an LPR to travel with a valid Green Card, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policy permits a transportation carrier bound for the United States to allow you to board without carrier documentation if you:Are an LPR with an expired Green Card that was issued with a 10-year expiration date (and you have been outside of the U.S. for less than a year);Are an LPR who has an expired Green Card with a two-year expiration date and you also have Form I-797, Notice of Action, showing that you filed a Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status (and you have been outside of the U.S. for less than a year). The Notice of Action extends the validity of the card for a specified length of time, generally one year; orAre an LPR military service member or employee of the U.S. government (or an LPR dependent of such an individual) on official U.S. military or government travel orders, regardless of time outside of the United States.Check with your airline or transportation carrier before you file Form I-131A because, in some situations, they may still refuse to let you board even if you are in one of the categories above. In that case, you will need to file a Form I-131A.If your airline requires a travel document because your Permanent Resident Card is expired, you will need to file form I-131A with the nearest US embassy or consulate. Here’s where leaving the U.S. with an expired green card is going to hurt - the current fee for the form is $575.00. Ouch. On top of that, when you return home, you will still need to file form I-90 to get a new green card and the current fee associated with that is $455.00. So the painful lesson is your new green card will have cost you up to $1,030.00!Good Luck!Edit: I'm getting views two to one over a retired US consular official (sorry Kathryn!) and quickly at that. I'd like to caution viewers that a person outside the US whose green card is expired must still be deemed to not have abandoned their status. That means they have not been outside the US for more than a continuous one year period or for a continuous two year period if they got a Re-entry Permit (but lost it.) If they have been outside the US longer than the time frame that fits their circumstance, a Returning Resident visa (SB-1) as Kathryn describes in her answer is required.I have also highlighted selected portions from the form instructions to make things clearer.

With a conditional green card, you don’t apply for renewal, you must apply for removal of the conditions.You either have to file I-751 (marriage based green cards) or I-829 (entrepreneurial based green cards) depending on your situation.The instructions for each form on when to file and what to do are very clear and can be found at USCIS. That is your guide. Nothing else. Your filing date is what matters (and it must be before your card expires). Not the election. Not COVID-19. Not how long it takes to process.Simply follow the instructions, track everything that is sent to USCIS so you can document your filing date. That’s it.

You have a conditional Green Card. You must apply to remove conditions from it. That’s it. And you can only do that within 90 days of your conditional Green Card expiring so you will have to wait until at least June of next year.If it’s a marriage based green card, you file I-751. If it’s an entrepreneurial green card, you file I-829. Instructions and forms for each are on the USCIS website.