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Green Card Information
What Is A Green Card?
A United States Permanent Resident Card, also known
popularly as Green Card, is an identification card for a permanent resident of
the United States of America who does not have U.S. citizenship. It is proof
that the holder has permission to permanently reside and take employment in the
U.S. Its "former" official title was Alien Registration Receipt Card, and it is
now officially called a Permanent Resident Card, also referred to as form I-551.
The name "green card" comes from the fact that the cards were originally green.
Their color has changed over the years, but the term "green card" has remained
in use. As of 2004, they are mostly white with green grass pattern in the card's
background. A card includes the holder's name and photograph, and other
information, and has been updated over the years with numerous
anti-counterfeiting devices. The card must be in the possession of the U.S.
permanent resident at all times. While that does not require that the U.S.
permanent resident has it on their person at all times, it does require that
they have a currently valid card and that they know where it is and can show it
to an USCIS officer, if requested. One interesting aspect of American law is
that permanent residents have identification cards, but citizens do not.
Green cards were formerly issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS). That agency's functions have been shifted to the new U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) formerly the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
Services (BCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security.
For more free legal information on Immigration Laws, please use the
links below:
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