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green card

green card

52 3.4
An official card that allows a foreign person to live and work permanently in the United States
  • noun
  • /ɡriːn kɑrd/
  • US
translation icon : tarjeta de residencia permanente
  • After submitting all the necessary paperwork, he finally received his green card to live and work in the United States.
  • a green card holder
  • a green card resident
  • known as a green card

In August, I got my green card mailed to me, which was great.

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Examples

  • According to the Senate bill, agricultural workers would get a green card at the edge of five years.

  • For Yuri, marriage solved both the green card and the loneliness issues, at least initially.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • We got married so you could get a green card.

  • I got you your green card, okay?

  • "I just want a green card so I can bring my son here," he says.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • "Marry me and get your green card," she said.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Once she got her green card, she promised a quick divorce.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • I was unable to go because at that time my green card was expired.

  • Faculty members with green cards wondered whether they should stay put.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In August, I got my green card mailed to me, which was great.

Antonyms

nonimmigrant
  • Formal
1 6.8

Relating to a visa or status for people visiting a country for a short time

Surface Forms

green card singular
green cards plural

Morphology

green + card

Although 'green' and 'card' are transparent individually (a color + a document), the specific meaning 'official permit to live and work permanently in the U.S.' is an institutionalized legal term that cannot be inferred from the constituents alone. A B1 learner who knows the words would likely think of a colored card or ID but would not predict the specialized immigration status sense, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.

Etymology

Green card comes from an older ID card that was green and showed a person's right to live and work in the United States. So, green card now means an official document that lets someone 'live and work permanently' in the U.S.