green card

noun
1.
an official card, originally green, issued by the U.S. government to foreign nationals permitting them to work in the U.S.
Origin
1965-70
Related forms
green-carder, noun
Examples from the web for green card
  • If you roll a green, read the mission on the next green card and roll the numbered die.
  • Now, a green card-holder can apply for citizenship after five years.
  • To rally public support, islanders can sign up for a green card which gives them a discount on local goods and services.
British Dictionary definitions for green card

green card

noun
1.
an official permit allowing the holder permanent residence and employment, issued to foreign nationals in the US
2.
an insurance document covering motorists against accidents abroad
3.
(social welfare) (in Britain) an identification card issued by the Manpower Services Commission to a disabled person, to show registration for employment purposes and eligibility for special services See also handicap register, registered disabled
green card in Technology


[after the "IBM System/360 Reference Data" card] A summary of an assembly language, even if the colour is not green. Less frequently used now because of the decrease in the use of assembly language. "I'll go get my green card so I can check the addressing mode for that instruction." Some green cards are actually booklets.
The original green card became a yellow card when the System/370 was introduced, and later a yellow booklet. An anecdote from IBM refers to a scene that took place in a programmers' terminal room at Yorktown in 1978. A luser overheard one of the programmers ask another "Do you have a green card?" The other grunted and passed the first a thick yellow booklet. At this point the luser turned a delicate shade of olive and rapidly left the room, never to return.
[Jargon File]