Alien Documents 430-05-30-60-35

(Revised 01/01/04 ML2893)

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The following documents may be used to verify alien status:

 

I-551 - Resident Alien Card – This card - various versions of which have been issued since 1978 - is proof of LPR status.  Now known as the "Permanent Resident Card," this card was previously known as the "Resident Alien Card" or "Alien Registration Receipt Card."  These cards are also commonly referred to as "green cards," even though recent versions of these cards are multi-colored.  Until 1989, these cards had no expiration date, but cards now being issued expire 10 years after the date of issue.  At the end of the ten years, the LPR does not lose his or her status, but must simply renew the card.  Conditional permanent residents are issued cards that are coded "CR" and expire after two years.  All I-551 cards include codes showing how the individual obtained LPR status - whether through work skills, as the relative of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, through the visa lottery, as a refugee or asylee, or otherwise.  The cards also indicate the date on which the individual is considered to have obtained permanent resident status.  This is often different from the date the person "entered" the U.S.

 

I-551 - Stamp in Foreign Passport -- When an immigrant is first admitted to the U.S. as an LPR, his or her passport is stamped with temporary proof of LPR status.  This stamp, which has an expiration date, may also be placed on the immigrant's I-94 form.  The stamp may be renewed as necessary up until the time the immigrant receives an I-551 Permanent Resident Card.

 

I-151 - Resident Alien Card -- The I-151 is a version of the "green card" that was issued before 1978 as proof of LPR status.  Over the years the INS issued several versions of the I-151 card.  Although these cards bear no expiration date, the INS decided to discontinue their use and issued regulations providing for their "expiration" as of March 20, 1996.  If a person has an "expired" I-151, this does not mean that he or she has lost LPR status; it means only that the I-151 is no longer considered proof of the person's LPR status when he or she applies for a job or attempts to reenter the U.S.  Individuals who still have the I-151 should apply for the I-551.  Persons who have applied for the I-551 card to replace an earlier version, but who have yet to receive it, may have a receipt from the INS or some other document that serves as proof of their LPR status.  

 

I-94 - Arrival/Departure Record -- The I-94 is a 3"x5" card which is issued to almost all noncitizens upon entry to the U.S.  It is also issued to individuals who entered the country without inspection and subsequently have contact with the INS.  The card is stamped or handwritted with a notation that indicates the individual's immigration category or the extension category or the section of the law under which the person is granted admission or parole.  The words "Employment Authorization" may also be stamped onto the card.  Noncitizens with I-94s include LPR's, persons fleeing persecution, persons with permission to remain in the U.S. based on a pending application, persons in deportation or removal proceedings, nonimmigrants, and undocumented persons whose period of admission or parole has expired.  

 

I-688 - Temporary Resident Card -- Immigrants who legalized their status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) were first granted temporary resident status.  The temporary resident card has a green stripe on the top.  The expiration date on the front of the card is extended by stickers placed on the back.  The immigrant may still be in lawful status, even if the I-688 or sticker has expired.  The card will be marked at the bottom center with the numbers "245A" or 210" to indicate whether the person legalized under the general amnesty (INA § 245a program or the farmworker SAW or INA § 210) program.  

 

I-688B - Employment Authorization Document (EAD) -- This document is an earlier version of the Employment Authorization Document for immigrants who have been granted permission to work in the U.S.  As with the I-766, there are codes on the front of the card that indicate the person's immigration status and refer to the section of the regulation authorizing employment.  

 

I-766 - Employment Authorization Document (EAD) -- This document is one of several that indicate an immigrant has been granted permission to work in the U.S.  Codes on the front of the card indicate the person's immigration status by referencing the subsection of the regulation authorizing employment.  

 

I-571 - Refugee Travel Document -- The refugee travel document is issued to refugees and asylees in the U.S. who want to travel abroad, and to lawful permanent residents who adjust to LPR status after having received refugee or asylee status.  The document is used like a passport to enter other countries and return to the U.S.

 

N-550 and N-570 - Certificates of Naturalization -- These documents are issued to persons who become U.S. citizens through the naturalization process.  The N-550 is the original certificate of naturalization issued by the court.  The N-570 is a replacement certificate issued by the INS when the original is lost or destroyed.  

 

N-560 and N-561 - Certificates of Citizenship -- A certificate of citizenship can be obtained by U.S. citizens born abroad who acquired citizenship at birth through a U.S. citizen parent. It can also be obtained by citizens who derive citizenship when their parents naturalized, and by those adopted by U.S. citizens. The N-561 is a replacement certificate.

 

I-179 and I-197 - U.S. Citizen ID Cards -- these two identification documents were issued to U.S. citizens, but they are no longer used by INS. Cards previously issued to U.S. citizens remain valid indefinitely.