A misspelled name on a green card, an incorrect date of birth on a citizenship certificate, or wrong entry information on an I-94 record looks like a small detail but later causes serious problems in travel, job applications, social security matters, and identity verification. Correcting errors in US immigration documents depends on different forms and routes according to which document holds the error and whose error it is; choosing the right route is decisive for both time and cost. Yellow Law Group, headquartered in Plano (Texas) with partner offices in Chicago (Illinois), Irvine (California), Alpharetta (Georgia), and Fairfield (New Jersey), guides Turkish clients through document and record corrections, backed by an attorney team with more than 10 years of collective practice. This guide explains which error is corrected by which route.
First, Two Questions: Which Document, Whose Error?
Two questions determine the correction route. The first is which document holds the error; each document has its own correction form. The second is the source of the error: if USCIS made the error itself, the correction is generally free; if the error comes from wrong information you provided or from another agency, the process and the fee change.
| Document With Error | Correction Form / Route | If USCIS Error |
|---|---|---|
| Green Card (Permanent Resident Card) | Form I-90 | Free |
| Citizenship / naturalization certificate | Form N-565 | Free |
| I-94 arrival-departure record (if USCIS issued) | Form I-102 | Free |
| I-94 (if CBP issued at the border) | CBP port office / deferred inspection | No USCIS form is used |
| Simple typographic error (while awaiting a new card) | USCIS e-Request typographic error tool | Free |
The USCIS resource on how to correct, update, or replace immigration documents lists the right route for each document type. The most common mistake is filing the wrong form: for example, sending an I-102 to USCIS to correct an error on an I-94 issued by CBP at the border wastes time; that correction is made at a CBP port office or a deferred inspection unit. Identifying the right authority from the outset prevents a delay that can run for months.
Green Card Error: Form I-90
If the name, date of birth, or other information on your green card is wrong, the correction is made with Form I-90. The distinction is critical here: if you provided correct information but the card was printed wrong, the error is USCIS's and the I-90 is filed for free; in most cases a biometrics appointment is not even needed. By contrast, if the error comes from wrong information you provided in the application, the standard fee applies.
Citizenship Certificate Error: Form N-565
If the name or date of birth on your naturalization or citizenship certificate is wrong, the correction is requested with Form N-565. As with the green card, if the error comes from a typographic or clerical error by USCIS, the correction is free and reissues the document with the correct information. Because the citizenship certificate is relied on in many places from passport applications to employment and retirement matters, an inconsistency on it leads to identity-verification problems later.
One subtlety is the difference between correcting a name and a legal name change. N-565 corrects an error in the document; but if you want to legally change your name (when the document is already correct), that is a separate process and generally requires a court order. Determining which situation is yours is the first step to not taking the wrong route. Where document correction fits within your citizenship process is assessed in our record corrections service.
I-94 and Other Record Errors
Errors on the I-94, the arrival-departure record tied to a nonimmigrant status, are corrected differently according to who created the record. If USCIS issued an I-94 after a change of status or extension and it is wrong, the correction is made with Form I-102. But if your I-94 was issued by CBP on entry to the US and the name, date of birth, visa class, or date of admission is wrong, I-102 is not used; the correction is made at the nearest CBP port office or deferred inspection unit. Confusing the two authorities is the most common cause of delay.
Beyond these, for data errors in USCIS systems (a spelling error, a date error), the e-Request typographic error tool or a service request can be used; for more complex record inconsistencies, the contents of your A-file may need to be seen. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is a separate tool for seeing what the records in your file are; requesting a record and correcting a record are different tasks, and our FOIA service comes in for identifying the record before correction.
Why Correcting Early Matters
When a document error is left unresolved, records at different agencies stop matching each other and cause a problem again with each new transaction. A name difference between the green card and the social security record makes employment onboarding harder; a date-of-birth difference between the citizenship certificate and a passport creates an obstacle in travel. Alignment in post-approval social security and identity matters is covered in our social security and post-approval matters service. Because fees and forms change from period to period, we determine the right form, the right authority, and the current fee together at the time of filing.
Yellow Law Group's five-state office structure puts legal support near the region where your matters run: the Plano (Texas) headquarters, Chicago (Illinois), Irvine (California), Alpharetta (Georgia), and the Fairfield (New Jersey) partner office. The handshake in our logo symbolizes the foundation of the partnership built with the client; our attorney team's 10 years of collective practice carry the same approach. To correct the error in your document by the right route, you can work with our Texas Bar licensed attorneys and schedule a 30-minute free initial consultation through our contact page.
