Brian S. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

"Green Cards" Return to their Roots

Thursday, November 11, 2010 by Brian S. Weiss

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) recently redesigned the Form I-551 permanent resident card, more commonly known by its nickname of “green card.” This redesign was implemented to incorporate several major new state-of-the-art technologies and security features and is the latest advancement in USCIS’s effort to deter fraud and counterfeiting in the immigration process.

Besides the new, enhanced security features, another interesting development in this redesign is that the “green card” is now once again actually “green” in color. According to the USCIS, this change in color allows the “green card” to be more easily recognizable. Despite its name and the many changes to the “green card” over the years, the “green card” wasn’t green.  The “green card” was initially a green paper document given to immigrants as evidence of their status, but it had taken on other colors since its inception.

As an immigration attorney in NY, I have long pondered why the “green card” is not actually green and this has been a common question of my clients. The answer was never clear to me. Thus, I thank the USCIS for not only implementing these hi-tech features found in the new “green card,” but also for returning the “green card” to its “green” roots. At the very least, it will save me from having to think about and provide answers to the question provided above.

Posted at 16:50 PM
Topic: Immigration
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