USCIS to issue new permanent resident cards that are actually green

The USCIS will soon issue a redesigned green card that will actually be green.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced recently that it has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card—commonly known as the “Green Card”—to incorporate several major new security features. The Green Card redesign is the latest advance in USCIS’s ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud. State-of-the-art technology incorporated into the new card is designed to prevent counterfeiting, obstruct tampering, and facilitate quick and accurate authentication. Beginning May 11, 2010, USCIS will issue all Green Cards in the new, more secure format.

Despite the name, Permanent Resident Cards, once called Alien Registration Receipt Cards, have not been green in more than 30 years.



In more detail, new features of the new redesigned cards will include a shift in ink color from gold to green; an embedded radio frequency identification device; tactile laser personalization, an infogram (the holographic image); the before mentioned laser engraved fingerprint, and a unique background design. Other aspects of the new cards will be a featured micro-image, with high resolution pictures of state flags. Optical media will store all digital files, including biometrics, and finally, the cards will incorporate a micro-image, high resolution picture of the current U.S. president.
