When Did the US Start Issuing Green Cards?

In the United States, a “Green Card” certifies that a noncitizen or “alien” is legally authorized to live and work in the country. Over the years, the coveted document has gone by many names, including “Alien Registration Receipt Card” and “Permanent Resident Card,” but most people still refer to it by the green paper first used to print the cards in the 1940s.  

In 1940, for the first time in U.S. history, the Alien Registration Act required all noncitizens and foreign nationals (14 or older) to register with the government. The law, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a World War II-era national security measure to identify and fingerprint millions of noncitizens already living in the country.  

In a public statement, FDR sold the new registration requirement as a positive measure “not only for the protection of the country but also for the protection of the loyal aliens who are its guests.” Around 5 million aliens registered, encouraged by radio PSAs and newspaper photos of foreign-born actors and musicians happily complying with the new law.

The Alien Registration Act of 1940 didn’t target noncitizens from specific countries. In 1942, following America’s entry into World War II, FDR issued an executive order requiring the additional registration of all “alien enemies”—natives of Germany, Japan and Italy. That order paved the way for the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans.  

The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required noncitizens to register at their local post office. Then they received a white-colored Alien Registration Receipt Card in the mail from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). However, the original white card didn’t distinguish between visitors, temporary workers and lawful permanent residents.  

When the war ended, alien registration continued, but it was done at ports of entry instead of post offices. Also, the INS started issuing three different registration cards to noncitizens: one for visitors, one for temporary workers and another for lawful permanent residents. The permanent resident card, officially called Form I-151, was printed on green paper.  

From that moment on, earning the right to live and work in the United States became known as getting a “Green Card.”  

Green Cards have come in many colors and configurations. To combat counterfeiting and fraud, the INS changed the design of Form I-151 nearly 20 times between 1947 and 1977. In 1964, the paper color changed from green to pale blue then dark blue a year later. 

Form I-151 was retired in 1977 and replaced with a machine-readable version called the Form I-551. Versions of that form have been pink, pink and blue, and finally green again in 2010. The latest version of the card, redesigned in 2023, is mostly green with the American flag and Statue of Liberty in the background.