Temporary I-551 Green Card stamp

A Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) may re-enter the United States with a valid Alien Documentation Identification and Telecommunication (ADIT) Stamp. It is also called I-551 stamp.

I-551 ADIT stamp

ADIT stamp

The ADIT Stamp is provided to a LPR as temporary evidence of his or her resident status. It may be affixed to a passport or to Form I-94. It is also known as I-551 stamp because it is a “Green Card” stamp.

If you have been scheduled for your Green Card interview and have a documented emergency that requires you to travel outside of the United States, you can ask the USCIS officer to give you a temporary ADIT stamp after the interview. Of course, this implies that your Green Card application is being approved.

Generally, the ADIT stamp can be obtained if the physical Green Card is lost, stolen, or was never received. In this case, the LPR will have to first apply for a replacement Green Card by filing Form I-90. Once the LPR has the receipt notice provided by USCIS, he or she can schedule an InfoPass appointment to the nearest USCIS Field Office to request the stamp.

The ADIT stamp can also be obtained by a conditional permanent resident that has a pending application for removal of conditions for more than the standard I-751 processing time. However, beginning in 2023, USCIS started extending conditional permanent residents’ Green Cards for a period of 48 month, in an attempt to limit the number of InfoPass appointment requests to get an ADIT stamp.

Finally, Federal law provides that a LPR that is subject to removal proceedings has the right to an ADIT stamp until an immigration judge issues a deportation order.

The ADIT stamp is generally granted for 1 year. However, in case of a LPR that is in removal proceedings, the ADIT stamp will most likely be granted through the date of the following immigration court hearing. A lawful permanent resident has the right to be granted evidence of his or her status until that status is terminated by an immigration judge (or by USCIS, but only in cases or automatic termination of conditional permanent resident status).

On July 1, 2014, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began using a new secure blue ink for many of its I-551 stamps. The older secure red ink will be retired and no longer used by USCIS on the effective date.

If USCIS unlawfully refuses to grant the ADIT stamp, you may be able to file a petition for a Writ of Mandamus.

If you have any questions about the I-551 stamp eligibility, please contact a New York Immigration Attorney.