green card

1 of 2

noun (1)

variants or less commonly Green Card

plural green cards also Green Cards

: an identity card attesting the permanent resident status of an immigrant, refugee, etc. in the U.S.

To become a citizen, people generally have to have a green card for several years, … pass a background check as well as English and civics tests, and take an oath.

—Madeleine Ngo

The steps you must take to apply for a Green Card will vary depending on your individual situation.

—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

green-carder

ˈgrēn-ˈkär-dər 

noun

green-carder

2 of 2

noun (2)

green-card·​er

-¦kȧdə(r

plural -s

: a foreign national with permission to work in the U.S.

Examples of green card in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Navarrete posed for a photo with a client who held an oversized green card to mark his acquisition of the real thing. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Kulkarni said their current priorities are to keep Bondonga from being relocated and adjudicating her green card application while also pushing her team's habeas corpus application forward, attempting to prove her detention unlawful. — Ruby Grisin, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Sep. 2026

The agency typically processes immediate relative petitions for green cards from abroad roughly in the order they are received. — Ignacio Calderon, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026

One plaintiff, a green card holder who lives in Chicago, said that he had been shot in the abdomen by officials under Quero Silva, an injury that left him with psychological scars and nerve damage. — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

from the fact that it was formerly colored green

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1956, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1964, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for green card

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard

Legal Definition

green card

noun

: an identity card attesting the permanent resident status of an alien in the U.S.

Etymology

Noun

from the fact that it was formerly colored green