Is a Green Card the Same as a Work Permit?

A lot of people mistakenly believe that U.S. green cards are nothing more than work permits. After all, they do come with the important benefit of allowing their holder to work in the United States! However, a green card is much more than a work permit, despite both of them being photo identity cards that permit the holder to accept U.S. employment. Here, we'll discuss the vastly different immigration statuses they represent; in short the difference between:

• lawful permanent residence, and
• various temporary buy lawful immigration statuses in the United States.

What Is a Green Card?

People all over the world have heard of green cards. This is the unofficial term for the Alien Registration Card or "I-551," which is green in color. (The cards have gone through various color changes over the years, including pink and white, but today they are green once again.) The card’s main function is to identify its holder as a lawful permanent or conditional resident of the United States.

While green cards give people the right to work legally in the United States where and when they wish, that is just one of the many rights that come with permanent residence. Green card holders can also travel in and out of the United States, petition for their spouse and unmarried minor children to join them in the United States as fellow green card holders, and eventually apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship. Even if they don't become citizens, they can, in theory, live in the United States for their whole life; unless they do something that results in them becoming deportable. (See Overview of Deportation/Removal Laws.)

If you are eligible for a green card, don’t bother applying for it if all you really want is a work permit, and actually living in the United States long-term is not your goal. When you have a green card, you are required to make the United States your permanent home. If you don’t, you risk losing your residence on grounds that you "abandoned" it. If you spend only limited periods of time in the United States, but your true home is elsewhere, your card could be revoked or you could be denied entry to the U.S. next time you try to travel to it. That's a lot of effort and expense for nothing.

It’s wise not to spend more than six months at a time outside the United States if you have a green card and want to keep it. Consult with an immigration lawyer if you know you'll need to spend more time away than that. You might need to apply for what's called a "reentry permit" in advance to facilitate your U.S. return.

All green cards issued to lawful permanent residents since 1989 carry expiration dates of 10 years from the date of issuance. This does not mean that the residency itself expires in 10 years, just that the card must be replaced in order to serve as evidence of your status.

Green cards issued to lawful conditional residents (in most cases, people who married a U.S. citizen and applied for a green card soon after; or EB-5 investor visa holders) always carry a two-year expiration date. In their case, the status actually will expire if they don’t take steps to convert to permanent residence close to the end of those two years.

What Is a Work Permit?

Work permits, more commonly known as employment authorization documents (EADs), are issued to a wide variety of nonimmigrants (temporary visa holders) and to people with certain applications pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or the immigration court, such as for adjustment of status.

Work permits might last for a few months or up to a year (with possible renewals), depending on the visa or other status of their holder.

For example, a person who entered the United States on a fiancé (K-1) visa may apply for a work permit that lasts 90 days, meant to tide the person over until they have gotten married and applied for adjustment of status, at which time another, longer-term work permit will be issued to the foreign national. (Actually that's a rather impractical possibility, because USCIS is normally so backed up with EAD applications that they can't get people their EADs within those 90 days.)

Among the many other categories of people who need to apply to USCIS for work permits are asylees, people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), F-1 students who will be doing optional practical training or working off campus based on unforeseen severe economic need, spouses of J-1 exchange visitors (with J-2 visas), spouses of E-1/E-2 treaty traders and investors and L-1 intracompany transferees, people granted withholding of removal, and more.

In some cases, by contrast, the right to work in the United States comes automatically with a person’s visa status, so that they do not need to apply for an EAD at all. This is true of most people who received a work-based nonimmigrant visa, such as an H-1B or H-2B.

For people who do need to apply for a work permit, the application is made on USCIS Form I-765, available for download on the USCIS website. In most cases you must pay a nonrefundable filing fee along with it.

Getting Legal Help

If you seek to work legally in the United States, you most likely need to have a job offer, a pending application for a green card, or some other right to remain in the United States, such as asylum or Temporary Protected Status.

If uncertain of whether you qualify for a green card or a work permit, or you need help with the applications, consult an immigration lawyer. See How to Find an Excellent Immigration Lawyer Near Me.