Why aren't Green Cards green?

[Mengxin]

Why Isn't the Green Card Green?

http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/history/...icles/Green.htm

 

What we know as a "green card" came in a variety of different colors at different times in its history. We still refer to them as "green cards" for the same reason dismissal notices are called "pink slips," sensationalized news is called "yellow journalism," and intended distractions are called "red herrings." In each case, an idea was originally associated with an actual item of the respective color. A Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) alien living in the United States may carry a card that is not green, but refers to it as a "green card." The alien does so because the card bestows benefits, and those benefits came into being at a time when the card was actually green.

 

Historical Background

 

The green card is formally known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-151 or I-551. The first receipt cards were Form AR-3 (printed on white paper), and were the product of the Alien Registration Act of 1940. Designed as a national defense measure, the Act required all aliens (non-U.S. citizens) within the United States to register with the U.S. Government.

[Mild_Bill]

Very interesting. I thought it was because when they first started making the "green cards", they actually were green, but I never knew.

[eeyore]

Why Isn't the Green Card Green?

http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/history/...icles/Green.htm

 

What we know as a "green card" came in a variety of different colors at different times in its history. We still refer to them as "green cards" for the same reason dismissal notices are called "pink slips," sensationalized news is called "yellow journalism," and intended distractions are called "red herrings." In each case, an idea was originally associated with an actual item of the respective color. A Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) alien living in the United States may carry a card that is not green, but refers to it as a "green card." The alien does so because the card bestows benefits, and those benefits came into being at a time when the card was actually green.

 

Historical Background

 

The green card is formally known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-151 or I-551. The first receipt cards were Form AR-3 (printed on white paper), and were the product of the Alien Registration Act of 1940. Designed as a national defense measure, the Act required all aliens (non-U.S. citizens) within the United States to register with the U.S. Government.

Interesting, I've never seen a green card and assumed they were green.