Reading a Permanent Resident Card.pdf

Reading a Permanent Resident Card

United States Permanent Resident Card (green card) (May 2010)

Most of the information on the card is self-evident. The computer and human readable signature

at the bottom is not. The format is (digit range: expected data (information contained)):

Category

Code

Reading the Back of the Card

First line:

1–2: C1 or C2. C1 = Resident within the United States C2= Permanent Resident commuter

(Living in Canada or Mexico)

3–5: USA (issuing country, United States)

6–14: 9-digit number (A#, alien number)

15: application receipt number

16–30: immigrant case number that resulted in the approved green card. The "<" symbol

represents a blank space

Second line:

1-6: birth date (in YY/MM/DD format)

7: not documented, assumed to be a check digit

8: gender

9-14: expiration date (in YY/MM/DD format)

15: not documented, assumed to be a check digit

16-29: country of birth

30: not documented, assumed to be a check digit

Third line:

Last name, first name, middle name, first initial of father, first initial of mother (this line is

spaced with "<<" between the last name and first name). Depending on the length of the

name, the father's and mother's initials may be omitted.

A full list of category codes can be found at:

http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/fedreg/2008_2009/fr20mr08.pdf - Federal Register/Vol.73, No. 55

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87524.pdf - US Department of State, Foreign

Affairs Manual Vol. 9 – Visas

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500502215#C - SSA – POMS: SI 00502.215

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/chapter3.pdf - Guide to Naturalization FAQs