Question:
I have a friend who have had his green card 15 years ago and
never since renewed (this is a permanant green card and not the
type that should be renewed every year). Does anyone know if
this card should ever be renewed or any other information about it?
Answer:
From a legal standpoint there is only one type of green card,
although INS has used several different forms to make the cards over
the years. There is no type of green card that requires renewal every
year.
All the older cards are supposed to be converted over to the
newer, 10-year card. Sooner or later INS will get heavy about it.
They tried once before (enacting a regulation making the old cards
void after a certain date) but backed down under public pressure.
Your friend would be well advised to simply apply for the new card and
get it over with. Thereafter it must be renewed every 10 years.
Our Congress Critter's Immigration Bill - The Ongoing Saga
A) Immigrants urged to get new 'green cards' and...
B) House rejects counterfeit-proof social security cards
WASHINGTON - The House Wednesday rejected a plan to require the
government to develop a Social Security card more resistant to
counterfeiting. The vote stalled a drive to crack down on illegal
aliens who use phony IDs to find jobs.
The House voted, 221-191, against adding the plan to a bill calling
for a major overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.
On a related matter, the federal government took new steps to disrupt
the counterfeiting of immigration documents, urging hundreds of
thousands of legal immigrants to renew their old "green cards."
The new cards carry the holder's thumb print or signature. INS officials
are confident the newer cards are far more difficult to counterfeit.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service said such permits issued before
1979 that carry neither the holder's thumbprint nor signature will expire
Wednesday.
Rep. Bill McCollum's amendment to the immigration bill met opposition
from lawmakers who said the step could easily lead to the imposition of
a national identification card and a system that would amass personal
information on every U.S. citizen.
In order to be secure, such a card would require a photograph of the
holder, said Rep. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.).
"While I strongly support appropriate measures to curb illegal immigration
in employment I must oppose any proposals that would change the issuance
or purpose of the current Social Security card without thorough examination,"
he said late Tuesday.
But McCollum (R-Fla.) said photographs would not be required and the
Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost at $51 million a year
over the next 10 years.
The House also agreed to add another provision that would punish foreigners
who intentionally entered the United States illegally by permanently
barring them from entering again.
Members of the House voted 120-291 to reject Rep. Anthony Beilenson's
request that it kill a plan to construct 14 miles of triple fencing along
the Mexican border near San Diego. Belienson said the Justice Department
doesn't want the fence, and money could be better used repairing physical
barriers now in place.
As the debate over immigration began Tuesday, the primary author of the
bill, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said he expected his plan to survive
intact despite angry objections to the measure's core provisions from both
the right and the left.
Opponents have few complaints about provisions that would stiffen penalties
for illegal aliens. But some liberals and conservatives have united to
defeat a plan to cut the numbers of foreigners allowed to immigrate here.
Smith told reporters he thinks common sense - and most votes - are on his
side. "I think we're on the verge of a great victory," he said.
During the next two days, four Republicans and two Democrats will try to
strike most new restrictions on legal immigration from the bill with an
amendment expected to come up for a vote this week. Sponsors include Reps.
Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Dick Chrysler (R-Mich.) who want the House to
deal with legal immigration in a separate bill.
Freshman Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) said he would propose an amendment that
would kill a provision creating a telephone system employers could use to
check the social security numbers to avoid hiring illegal aliens. Congress
could make the system permanent and mandatory after a 3-year pilot program.
Chabot has derided the idea as "1-800-Big-Brother," and suggested it also
could lead to a national identification system.
And the Office of Management and Budget said a Clinton veto was possible
if the bill were amended to include a new agriculture guest worker program
that would bring as many as 250,000 foreign workers into the country
temporarily.
OMB said the proposed program would reduce work opportunities for U.S.
residents, depress wages and work standards and increase illegal
immigration.
Smith told the House that his bill would restore the integrity of the
nation's borders, reduce crime, save jobs for Americans, reunite immigrant
families and slow the rising numbers of immigrants on welfare.
It would double the number of border patrol officers over five years,
increase penalties for alien smuggling and document fraud and speed up
deportation of immigrants convicted of committing crimes.
It also would scale back legal immigration by at least 19% from the
approximately 800,000 who entered the United States last year and in 1994.
Opponents contend the cuts would be as high as 40%.
But more importantly, Smith said, it puts a higher priority on bringing
the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens into the country.
To make more room for them, the bill would end programs that allow U.S.
residents to sponsor their siblings and most adult children into the
country.
The Clinton administration, which has supported moderate reductions in
legal immigration, called the cuts extreme in a statement released Tuesday.
But Smith said under his plan, the United States would continue to have
the world's most generous legal immigration system.
