Replacing a lost Greencard  

The other day a client came to see me in the office in order to talk about replacing her stolen greencard. She said that her purse was picked up at her desk by an intruder while she was working. Inside her purse were her DMV license, bank cards, some cash, and her greencard. If a similar incident happens to you, here are the steps you should do.

1.) Immediately report to the police. File a theft complaint and have the police investigate. Make sure you know the facts and circumstances before, during, and after the loss and relay these facts as honestly and accurately as you can.

2.) Call your bank. Inform your bank of such loss in order form them to close your bank account. Do not give time for the thieves to use your debit and credit cards. The bank will also nullify the unauthorized transactions and refund whatever amount is taken away from your account.

3.) Execute an affidavit of loss. This is important when you want to make replacement cards. Government offices and private establishments want a formal declaration from you about the loss. A notarized document such as an affidavit is what most of them are looking for before they issue you a replacement card. Keep several copies.

4.) If you lost your greencard, file USCIS Form I-90. This is the form you use in order to replace a lost or stolen greencard. The fee is $540. If you cannot afford the fee, you can file a waiver explaining your personal situation why you cannot afford to pay. I suggest that you should apply for a replacement of your greencard since that is evidence of your legal authorization to live and work in the US. Keep the receipt notice as it is evidence that you have filed for the replacement.

As you can see, it is very expensive to replace a mew greencard. $540 is a huge amount of money. I always advise my clients to store their greencard in a secure place and just keep a photocopy in their wallets if they want to. Do not bring it with you as it is very risky to lose it. Nobody is following you around and asking for it anyway.

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The world order is reshaping before our very eyes. As of this writing, Ukraine is being attacked by Russia. Mr. Putin is looking to expand his territory as he places his grand ambition into action --that is to reacquire former Soviet states and reestablish the Soviet Union at whatever cost. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already elicited widespread condemnation from the US and the major countries in Europe. Specifically, economic sanctions have already been imposed against Russia with the aim of crippling it economically. But Mr. Putin is not blinking. These sanctions are not taking effect soon enough. There are no US military forces on the ground in Ukraine nor is there any active defense in support of Ukraine. Putin is a master manipulator and plays the long game. He has majority of Europe dependent on Russian oil and gas. Even the US buys oil from him! And China is fully supporting him. Day 2 of the invasion is getting worse for Ukraine as the capital is already in danger of being taken. For the rest of the world, oil prices have already gone up and we are all feeling the pain at the pump. The daily average of the price of a gallon of gas is now at $3.45 and there is no sign of it going down anytime soon.

Speaking of China, we should be wary on how it reacts. Sensing that the world and more specifically the US has no appetite to reassume its role as the world police, China will be emboldened to retake Taiwan and probably expand their intrusion into the West Philippine Sea. Under the current US administration, it can only do so much to support its allies but it is doubtful that it would commit its military might. The US cannot afford to go to war unless it is directly attacked or its vital interests are in danger. The rest of the world are interdependent with one another and avoid to be drawn out into long-standing conflicts. Russia, China, and other nations like Iran and North Korea are going to exploit these new realities to extract the best advantage as possible. This leaves weaker nations like the Philippines very vulnerable.