United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced last week that they will begin rolling out a dramatic redesign of U.S. Green Cards and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) this spring. These government-issued documents will provide more rigorous protection from fraud than ever before while also increasing the cardholders’ identity security.
In accordance with the Next Generation Secure Identification Document Project, which seeks to harness advancing technologies for identity security and protection, the redesigned documents will include a range of optimized graphics, holographic images, and—most strikingly—will no longer feature the individual’s signature.
While the new cards will be phased in beginning May 1, 2017, existing Green Cards and EADs are still valid until their expiration date and are acceptable forms of documentation for employment eligibility. Older Green Cards without an expiration date remain valid as well. However, USCIS encourages all Green Card holders to apply for a replacement card to decrease the risk of fraud in the event that their card is lost or stolen.