Permanent residence (United States) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia United States Permanent Resident Card (green card) (May 2010) United States Permanent Resident Card (2008) United States Alien Registration Receipt Card (1946) United States lawful permanent residency is the immigration status of a person authorized to live and work in the United States of America permanently. A United States Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551), formerly Alien Registration Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (INS Form I-151), is an identification card attesting to the permanent resident status of an alien in the United States. It is known informally as a green card because it was green from 1946 until 1964, and it reverted to that color on May 11, 2010.[1][2] Green card also refers to an immigration process of becoming a permanent resident. The green card serves as proof that its holder, a lawful permanent resident (LPR), has been officially granted immigration benefits, which include permission to reside and take employment in the United States. The holder must maintain permanent resident status, and can be removed from the United States if certain conditions of this status are not met. Green cards were formerly issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2135) dismantled INS and separated the former agency into three components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The first, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) handles applications for immigration benefits. Two other agencies were created to oversee the INS former functions of immigration enforcement: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), respectively.[3] Permanent residents of the United States eighteen years of age or older must carry their actual green card at all times. Failing to do so is a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, carrying the possibility of a fine up to $100 and/or imprisonment for up to 30 days for each offense.[4] Only the federal government can impose these penalties.[5] Contents 1 Reading a permanent resident card 2 Path to U.S. citizenship 3 Types of immigration 3.1 Immigration eligibility and quotas 4 Application process 4.1 Application process for family-sponsored visas 4.1.1 Green card holders and families 4.1.2 Improving the application process in obtaining a green card 4.1.2.1 Challenges with processing time of application 4.1.2.2 Quota System Challenges 4.2 Application process for employment-based visa 4.3 Green card lottery 4.3.1 Recent developments 4.3.2 Crime: Green card lottery scam 4.3.3 Green card lottery e-mail fraud 5 Conditional permanent residence 5.1 Differences between permanent residents and conditional permanent residents 6 Abandonment or loss of permanent residence status 6.1 Tax costs of green card relinquishment 7 Visa-free travel for green card holders 8 See also 9 References 10 External links 10.1 US Government immigration sites Reading a permanent resident card Most of the information on the card is self-evident.[6] The computer and human readable signature at the bottom is not. The format is follows the Machine Readable Travel Document type2 format: First line: 1–2: C1 or C2. C1 = Resident within the United States C2 = Permanent resident commuter (living in Canada or Mexico) 3–5: USA (issuing country, United States) 6–14: 9-digit number (A#, alien number) 15: application receipt number 16–30: immigrant case number that resulted in the approved green card. The
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 04:12:07 +0000
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