A green card, also known as a greencard, is a document that identifies someone who is not a US citizen but has been given permission to live in the US permanently - it is also called a US Permanent Resident card. At one point, the green card was actually green, but, like the used-car guide known as the 'blue book', it has been various colors throughout the years. Today's green card is white.
The permanent resident non-citizen must carry his or her green card at all times since it may be necessary to prove that they are in the country legally. It can also be used to prove residency status when applying for work. Non-permanent resident aliens need an Employment Authorization Document to be legally hired by a US employer, but the holder of a green card has implicit employment authorization.
The green card is for many the first step on the road to naturalization and full US citizenship, and is highly sought after. The official green card has a number of anti-forgery features to prevent it from being easily duplicated. Getting a green card, or permanently immigrating to the US, can be a lengthy process, and not everyone can qualify for one. You can obtain a green card if you are closely related to a US citizen -- a spouse, parent, child or sibling. If you have a job offer within the US, it can help you qualify for immigration and permanent residency through employment.
One unique qualification for permanent resident status and a green card is through investment. If you are willing to invest in creating a business in the US that will employ at least ten people, you may qualify for a green card. You will be required to prove you have the necessary capital for the enterprise, of course. If you are from a country with a low rate of immigration to the US, you may take part in a lottery that authorizes 50,000 permanent residency visas a year.
What we call a green card today is known through out the world as a work permit for working and living in the United States. We still call it a green card even though it came in a variety of different shapes and colors through out its long history. Indeed, for the same reasons dismissal notices are called "pink slips", sensational news is called "yellow journalism" and false clues are called "red herrings." All these names originated from a once-real object that once did indeed exist.
The green card is officially known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card. The first green cards were white and were the product of the Alien Registration Act of 1940. Originally passed as a national defense measure, the act required all aliens to register themselves with the government. They could do this at the post offices, and their registration forms were forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or the INS. However, the Alien Registration Act did not discriminate against legal and illegal immigrants. All were legal, and all were registered. After the INS processed the forms, the immigrants were sent a receipt form, and in essence, these were the first green cards to be issued.
When World War II ended and immigration once again resumed on a large scale, alien registration was not done at the post offices any more but became part of the normal procedure of immigration, and each type of immigrant was classified by a different permit. This enabled the INS to deal with far less forms and to deal the immigrants with better efficiency. And that then, is where the green card came from. There were several different types of immigrants; workers, students and teachers, and each had a registration permit that showed their status. Those immigrants, who were lucky enough to obtain a permit for permanent residence in the United States, got a green receipt, or, in other words, a green card.
The permanent resident non-citizen must carry his or her green card at all times since it may be necessary to prove that they are in the country legally. It can also be used to prove residency status when applying for work. Non-permanent resident aliens need an Employment Authorization Document to be legally hired by a US employer, but the holder of a green card has implicit employment authorization.
The green card is for many the first step on the road to naturalization and full US citizenship, and is highly sought after. The official green card has a number of anti-forgery features to prevent it from being easily duplicated. Getting a green card, or permanently immigrating to the US, can be a lengthy process, and not everyone can qualify for one. You can obtain a green card if you are closely related to a US citizen -- a spouse, parent, child or sibling. If you have a job offer within the US, it can help you qualify for immigration and permanent residency through employment.
One unique qualification for permanent resident status and a green card is through investment. If you are willing to invest in creating a business in the US that will employ at least ten people, you may qualify for a green card. You will be required to prove you have the necessary capital for the enterprise, of course. If you are from a country with a low rate of immigration to the US, you may take part in a lottery that authorizes 50,000 permanent residency visas a year.
Green Card History
What we call a green card today is known through out the world as a work permit for working and living in the United States. We still call it a green card even though it came in a variety of different shapes and colors through out its long history. Indeed, for the same reasons dismissal notices are called "pink slips", sensational news is called "yellow journalism" and false clues are called "red herrings." All these names originated from a once-real object that once did indeed exist.
The green card is officially known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card. The first green cards were white and were the product of the Alien Registration Act of 1940. Originally passed as a national defense measure, the act required all aliens to register themselves with the government. They could do this at the post offices, and their registration forms were forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or the INS. However, the Alien Registration Act did not discriminate against legal and illegal immigrants. All were legal, and all were registered. After the INS processed the forms, the immigrants were sent a receipt form, and in essence, these were the first green cards to be issued.
When World War II ended and immigration once again resumed on a large scale, alien registration was not done at the post offices any more but became part of the normal procedure of immigration, and each type of immigrant was classified by a different permit. This enabled the INS to deal with far less forms and to deal the immigrants with better efficiency. And that then, is where the green card came from. There were several different types of immigrants; workers, students and teachers, and each had a registration permit that showed their status. Those immigrants, who were lucky enough to obtain a permit for permanent residence in the United States, got a green receipt, or, in other words, a green card.