10 Green Card Rules Every Permanent Resident Should Know

You received your green card, and the immigration process feels finished. It is only partly finished. Permanent residence comes with rights, but also with travel limits, filing deadlines, tax obligations and legal risks that most people learn about only when something has already gone wrong. These are the ten rules, plus one, that every lawful permanent resident should know.

Watch NYC immigration attorney Remzi G. Kulen walk through the ten rules, what you can now do, what you must do, and the mistakes that put status and future citizenship at risk:

1. You can work for most employers

You generally no longer need an employer to sponsor a temporary work visa. If an employer sponsored your green card, you are expected to work for that employer for a reasonable period, which is not defined in the statute or regulations but is generally considered to be about six months. After that you may change employers, accept a promotion, work in a different field, start a business or become self-employed. Some positions remain limited to U.S. citizens, or require a security clearance, government authorization or a professional license.

2. You can petition for certain family members

As a permanent resident you can file for your spouse and for your unmarried children of any age. You cannot petition for parents, married children or siblings in the categories available to U.S. citizens, and waiting periods depend on the relationship and visa availability. Becoming a citizen later expands the family members you can sponsor: married children and, once you are 21, parents and siblings.

3. You can apply for citizenship when eligible

Most permanent residents may apply for naturalization after five years. If you are married to a U.S. citizen, you may qualify after three years instead, whether or not your green card came through that marriage, but only if all of the following are true for the three years before you file: you have been a permanent resident; you have been married to, and living in marital union with, the same U.S. citizen spouse; that spouse has been a U.S. citizen the entire time; you have maintained continuous residence in the United States; and you have been physically present in the United States for at least 18 months (548 days). You must also remain married to that spouse until you take the Oath of Allegiance, have lived in your state or USCIS district for at least three months before filing, and meet the usual requirements of good moral character, English, civics and attachment to the Constitution.

Form N-400 can be filed up to 90 days before the required residence period is complete. Holding a green card for three or five years does not by itself mean you qualify: international travel, tax filings, criminal history, Selective Service registration, marital history and the information in your earlier immigration applications all affect eligibility. Review these issues before you become eligible, not after you file.

4. Travel carefully and keep the United States as your home

A green card is not a travel document that lets you live abroad and visit occasionally. Lawful permanent residence means the United States should remain your principal and permanent home. A trip of more than six months (more than 180 days) can complicate a future naturalization application: USCIS presumes that it broke your continuous residence, and it is up to you to show otherwise. An absence of a year or longer generally breaks continuous residence for naturalization and can cause more serious problems, including difficulty returning without the right documents, or loss of the green card itself.

When an officer evaluates whether you abandoned your residence, the factors include how long you were outside the country, where you worked, where your immediate family lived, whether you kept a home in the United States, how you filed your taxes and whether your overall conduct shows an intention to keep the United States as your home. Before an extended assignment abroad, get advice on whether a re-entry permit or other planning is appropriate. A re-entry permit is requested on Form I-131 while you are still in the United States; it is generally valid for up to two years and cannot be extended. It lets you return without a returning resident visa and helps show that you did not abandon your residence, but it does not guarantee admission, and it does not preserve the continuous residence required for naturalization.

5. Never vote, and never claim to be a U.S. citizen

A green card does not give you the right to vote in federal elections. Registering to vote, or voting, when you are not eligible can carry serious immigration consequences, and USCIS is harsh on naturalization applicants who voted as if they were citizens. Under USCIS guidance issued in August 2025 and in effect as of September 2026, USCIS may issue a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge to anyone who voted unlawfully or falsely claimed U.S. citizenship, including when registering to vote, unless a narrow statutory exception applies; once removal proceedings are pending, a naturalization application is generally denied. Most of these problems arise innocently: a voter registration desk at a mall, a form at the DMV. Read driver's license applications, employment forms, voter registration materials and financial aid applications carefully wherever they ask about citizenship. A false claim to U.S. citizenship is one of the most serious problems in immigration law, and it is your responsibility to make sure you are not registered to vote.

6. Know whether you hold a two-year or a ten-year card

Not every green card is valid for ten years. A ten-year card is renewed or replaced with Form I-90. A two-year card means you are a conditional permanent resident, either through a marriage that was less than two years old on the day you became a permanent resident, or through the EB-5 investor program. Conditional residents cannot simply renew with an I-90. Marriage-based conditional residents file Form I-751 to remove the conditions; EB-5 conditional residents file Form I-829. Both are generally filed within the 90 days before the card expires and have documentary requirements, and missing the window can end your conditional status and make you removable.

One trap deserves its own warning. USCIS sometimes issues a ten-year card by mistake to someone whose marriage was under two years old when they became a permanent resident. The conditions apply by law, whatever the card says. The error is USCIS's, but the responsibility is yours: you still have to file the I-751 within the 90 days before the second anniversary of the date you became a permanent resident.

7. Keep valid proof of your status

If you are 18 or older, INA 264(e) requires you to carry your green card, or equivalent evidence of your registration, with you at all times, and failing to do so is a federal misdemeanor. An expired ten-year card does not mean your status has expired; the card is the proof, not the status. But an expired, lost, stolen or damaged card causes practical problems with employment verification, international travel and driver's license renewal, so renew or replace it with Form I-90. When you file to remove conditions on a two-year card, USCIS sends a receipt notice that, together with the expired card, serves as proof of status; as of September 2026, the receipt for a properly filed I-751 or I-829 extends the card's validity for 48 months past its expiration date.

8. Report every address change to USCIS

Permanent residents must report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving, either through a USCIS online account or on Form AR-11. It is easy to overlook when you have no pending application, but interview notices, biometrics appointments, requests for evidence and other correspondence go to the address on file. Changing your address with the Postal Service does not update USCIS. Report the new address separately, and update it on every pending application or petition, including re-entry permits.

9. File your taxes properly

Permanent residents are treated as U.S. tax residents, and the reporting obligation covers worldwide income, not only income earned in the United States. That is one of the most common misconceptions among green card holders. Under IRS rules, that tax residency continues even while you live abroad, until the green card status is formally abandoned in writing or terminated. Tax filings also matter at naturalization: filing as a nonresident, failing to file, or failing to report income raises questions about whether you maintained residence and whether you meet the good moral character requirement. The rules are complex for anyone with foreign income, businesses, accounts or property. Consult a CPA on the filing obligations and an immigration attorney on the immigration consequences.

10. Do not ignore criminal or immigration problems

A green card provides real protection, but not immunity. Certain arrests, charges, convictions, plea agreements, fraud findings, misrepresentations, immigration violations and false claims to citizenship can put your status at risk, and a case that looks minor under state law can have serious immigration consequences. If you are arrested or charged, do not accept a plea without understanding its immigration effect, and speak with both a criminal defense attorney and an immigration attorney before deciding anything in criminal court. Review any past issues before traveling internationally, renewing the card or applying for citizenship. Sealed records can still surface at the border.

The extra rule: Selective Service

Male permanent residents ages 18 through 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System. Failing to register can affect eligibility for certain government benefits and raise questions at naturalization. If you are in that age range, confirm your registration, and if you are still under 26 and not registered, register now. If you are older and missed it because you genuinely did not know about the requirement, USCIS gives you the chance to show that the failure was not knowing or willful, which can generally be done with a status information letter from the Selective Service System and a statement explaining that you would have registered had you known.

What to keep on file

Preserve your international travel history, tax returns and transcripts, USCIS notices and approvals, evidence of U.S. residence and employment, Selective Service records, and any documents relating to arrests, criminal cases or immigration issues. The most common mistake permanent residents make is assuming the green card itself provides the stability. The card provides the opportunity; the status still has to be protected.

Questions about extended travel, conditional residence, renewal, a criminal record or citizenship eligibility? Contact Kulen Law Firm before you act.

This article is general information and not legal advice. Every case is different. Speak with an experienced immigration attorney about your own situation.