Table of Contents
The “green card” is a slang term for the document proving legal permanent residence in the United States.
The green card is a wallet-sized identification card that proves legal permanent residency in the United States. Though it has undergone various changes over the years, the color is green. A green card issued by US Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) is called an I-551 or Permanent Resident Card (PRC).
The United States government grants a USA Green Card to thousands of immigrants every year who meet certain criteria. Among them are:
- Relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- An offer of employment from a U.S. employer
- Investing heavily in a U.S. business
- Getting a diversity visa through the lottery
- Refugees or asylees who have lived in the United States for at least a year
- A special immigrant may fall into one of several categories.
When will you receive the actual card?
Once you are approved for permanent residency, you won’t be given a card. Immigrants enter the U.S. with an immigrant visa and are then given a temporary I-551 stamp in their passports.
A letter of approval is given to immigrants who adjust status in the U.S. at or after their interview.
You will receive the actual green card by mail, typically a few weeks later.
The Rights and Limitations of U.S. Green Cards
The holder of a green card has the right to live and work in the U.S. permanently. Many government jobs are available to green card holders (though some are reserved for U.S. citizens). Additionally, green card holders are entitled to certain health and educational benefits.
Your spouse and unmarried children can also petition for their own green cards, though they will be classified as “preference relatives,” and because of annual visa limits, will have to wait in line for years to acquire a number.
You may keep your current citizenship in your native country, and you may apply for U.S. citizenship at a later time. For most green card holders, it is five years, but three years for people who were married and lived with a U.S. citizen during that time.
Green cards are not completely secure, however. You can lose your green card status by committing a crime or violating the law, failing to notify USCIS of a change of address, or doing something else that matches one of the grounds for deportation listed in Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Green card holders who leave the United States and return can be inadmissible under sections 212 of the I.N.A. The situation is especially problematic if one spent six months or more outside the United States or committed a crime while abroad.
Green Cards expire every ten years
Green cards used to have no expiration date, but USCIS now requires them to be renewed every ten years. It doesn’t mean that your permanent residence itself will expire, just that the document proving it will.
In addition, if you fail to renew your green card, you risk running into trouble with USCIS if it discovers that you have violated the law requiring you to carry your green card with you at all times.