Alien Registration Card by Any Other Color Is Still Green

When is a “green card” no longer a “green card” but still called one?

According to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, it’s when you’re talking about the green card--officially known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card.

Ernest Gustafson, the INS district director in Los Angeles, said Wednesday the so-called green card--named for the color introduced in the 1950s--will be rosy pink. He said federal authorities decided on the new hue for the resident alien card to undercut the thousands of fraudulent ones that have flooded the country. The new pink card also will have a printed expiration date, something the old green card did not have.