Keeping your card
A long trip can raise questions about whether you still live in the U.S. ResidentStep shows where each trip stands against the 180-day and 1-year lines, and the date to be back by.
For U.S. green card holders
Keep your green card. Get to citizenship.
A private record of your trips, documents and deadlines, with the two clocks every green card holder lives by. Free, with no account.
- Coming soon to theApp Store
- Coming soon onGoogle Play
- No account
- Your records stay on your phone
- English and Español · iPhone and Android
Your two clocks
Green cardValid for reentryNo trip near 180 days
CitizenshipEarliest filing Dec 15, 20271,238 days present (913 needed)
Trips and the two clocks
Two clocks for every trip.
Log a trip and see how it counts for keeping your card (180 days, 1 year) and for citizenship (6 months, physical presence), with return-by dates.
Getting to citizenship
Continuous residence (no trip over 6 months) and physical presence: 913 days in the U.S., or 548 on the 3-year track through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Each rule keeps its own unit, and both counts are shown.
Left Dec 20, 2026
Green card, 180 daysBack by Jun 18, 2027
N-400Marked: 24 hours or more
Return-by alerts
While you’re abroad, an “Abroad now” card shows your return-by dates, and a reminder comes as a trip nears 180 days, 6 months and 1 year. Reminders are made on your phone and never show your dates.
Your trip history
Totals since the day you became a resident: days abroad, trips and the longest trip, with a year filter. Dates you aren’t sure of can be marked as approximate.
Reentry permit planner
Planning a long stay abroad? It counts back from your departure: file Form I-131 in the U.S. and go to biometrics before you leave. It also explains what a permit doesn’t protect: the citizenship clock.
Deadlines and documents
Deadlines you can’t miss, documents you can find.
Card renewal, the I-751 window for 2-year cards, the 10-day address rule and passport expiry, with reminders before each one.
Your documents, with the dates that matter
Your green card, receipt notices and passport, encrypted on your phone. When a receipt notice extends your card, ResidentStep works the new date out from the card’s own date, shows the rule it used and flags it if the notice says something else.
Photos are for reference only: always carry the card itself.
The I-751 window
It opens 90 days before your card’s second anniversary. The countdown moves through three stages:
- Before window
- Window open
- Filed
“I moved”
Report a new address within 10 days, with a countdown, the steps for your USCIS online account written out, and a place to save your proof.
Renewal, on time
A reminder when your card’s renewal window opens, 6 months before it expires, and before your passport runs out.
Locked and encrypted
Photos and files are encrypted on your phone, and Face ID or your passcode can lock Documents.
Lost your card abroad?
A step-by-step guide that works offline, in Documents and in Rights.
Citizenship
Ready for the N-400.
Your earliest filing date, the requirements and a 5-year history of addresses, jobs and trips, built as you go.
Your earliest filing date
Worked out the way USCIS’s rule says, from the dates you entered: 5 years as a resident (or 3 through marriage to a U.S. citizen), less the 90 days you may file early, with the 3 months in your state noted. It’s a date from your entries, never a decision about you.
Your N-400 history
Addresses, trips (from your log), tax returns, jobs and schools with any gaps flagged, marriage and children, and arrests, citations and tickets (encrypted). It covers the last 5 years and shows how far along you are. With Premium, export it as a PDF for the form or an attorney.
Requirements
- Permanent resident 5 yearsSince the date on your cardIn progress
- Physical presence1,238 days present (913 needed)Met
- Continuous residenceNo trip over 6 monthsMet
- Your N-400 history4 of 6 sectionsKeep going
When your date gets close, ResidentStep can hand your history to StepCivics, our civics test app, for its mock interview. It goes from app to app on your phone, only when you tap Send.
Rights and travel
A border card that works offline.
Your rights in English and your language, emergency contacts, a travel packet and a lost-card guide. Free, with no ads.
To show an officer
- I am a lawful permanent resident.
- I don’t want to sign Form I-407.
- I won’t sign what I don’t understand; I’d like an interpreter.
- I’d like to call my lawyer.
In the app, each statement shows in English beside Spanish or Vietnamese.
Emergency contacts
An attorney and a family member, one tap away. Write them on paper too.
Before you travel
A red-flag check that stays on your phone. Any yes leads to “Talk to an attorney first”.
Travel packet
What to carry, by trip length: under 6 months, or 6 months or more.
Every warning has a source
Each one names its source and the date it was checked.
Offline and free, always
Rights works without a connection, never shows ads and is never part of Premium.
Rule updates
Rule changes, dated and sourced.
What changed, whether it’s final, proposed or in court, and the source it came from.
How it works
- Every item has a status: Final Proposed In court Ends …
- Filters: All, Affects me and Not final. “Affects me” is worked out on your phone.
- Country notices are opt-in. They use a nationality kept only on your phone.
- The same download for everyone, at most once a day, so it never says anything about you.
Privacy
Private by design.
No account. Your dates, trips and documents stay on your phone, with files encrypted and an optional app lock. Backup is off unless you turn it on, and it’s encrypted on your phone first.
Your records stay on your phone
Trips, documents, dates and your N-400 history are saved on your phone, with the sensitive parts and every file encrypted.
Backup is optional
Off unless you turn it on. Your records are encrypted on your phone before they’re uploaded, so the backup holds only encrypted data.
Phones can be searched
Border officers can search phones. You decide what to keep in ResidentStep, with that in mind.
Analytics without your details
Only which screens are opened, never your dates, trips, documents or countries. Turn it off in Settings.
Non-personalized ads only
One banner on Home, Trips and Citizenship, never on Documents or Rights. Premium removes it.
Export and delete everything
Export your data, or delete all of it in Settings. Deleting your backup also deletes its sign-in account.
Made for everyone
In your language, your way.
English and Español
ResidentStep follows your phone’s language, or pick one in Settings. Form names stay in English, as they are on the forms. More languages are planned.
- English
- Español
This website in Spanish is coming soon.
Seven color themes
Moss, in light and dark, is free. The other six come with Premium.
Built for every reader
VoiceOver and TalkBack labels, the largest text sizes, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency and big tap targets.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is this legal advice?
No. ResidentStep works from the dates you enter and shows the rule and its source. It doesn’t choose, fill in or file forms, and it never tells you whether you qualify. It is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney: for any decision, talk to an immigration attorney.
Is ResidentStep part of USCIS?
No. ResidentStep is not a law firm and is not affiliated with USCIS or the U.S. government. USCIS’s own pages and your notices are the official word. Green Card on uscis.gov
Do I need an account?
No. An account is needed only if you turn on the optional encrypted backup, and then you sign in with Apple or Google.
Is it free?
Yes. Both clocks, every reminder, the border card and documents are free. Premium is one optional purchase.
Can a border officer see what’s in the app?
Officers at the border can search phones. ResidentStep keeps your records on your phone, encrypted, with an optional app lock, but it isn’t a way to hide information. You decide what to keep in it.
Which languages?
English and Spanish, with more planned.
How do I delete my data?
Settings → Delete all data removes everything on your phone, and so does uninstalling the app. If you turned on backup, Settings → Backup → Delete deletes the backup and its sign-in account. Delete your account or data
ResidentStep is coming soon.
On the App Store and Google Play, for iPhone and Android.
- Coming soon to theApp Store
- Coming soon onGoogle Play