Thousands of immigrants in the United States who are lawful permanent residents often become desperate when their green cards are about to expire and it’s time to replace them. That’s because of the delays in immigration procedures, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the many problems they might confront with expired green cards are lacking proof of legal status in the U.S., interrupted employment authorization and obstacles to travel abroad, since they need a valid green card to reenter the United States.

This situation will change this month as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implements a new procedure to extend a green card’s validity.

This new procedure ensures that permanent residents “with a recently expired green card will have documentation of identity, employment authorization and authorization to return to the United States following temporary foreign travel,” the Department of Homeland Security agency said in a news release.(Miami Herald)