What is a Green Card?

Foreign nationals who become "permanent residents" are given cards called "Alien Registration Receipt Cards," otherwise known as "green cards." Green cards give you the right to work and permanently reside in the United States. Green cards are generally available to:

• Immediate family members of U.S. citizens
• Refugees and asylees
• Individuals with job offers for positions in demand by U.S. employers
• Educated professionals
• Investors
• Green card lottery winners

The processes for obtaining green cards vary. If you are not in the United States, you will go through the process of obtaining your green card at a U.S. consulate or embassy in your home country and obtain an immigrant visa, which you will use to enter the United States. If you currently reside in the U.S., you will "adjust status" through the INS. Individuals who are issued green cards will eventually be able to apply for U.S. citizenship, a process called "naturalization."

Interestingly, green cards are no longer green; they are now high-tech and hard-to-forge cards with embedded identifiers and magnetic strip technology.