Biometric ID and Immigration Reform

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Issuing Next-Generation Green Cards With RFID

May 27, 2010

RFID Journal - LaserCard, a provider of secure ID solutions, has introduced a next-generation U.S. Permanent Resident Card (also known as a green card) featuring advanced optical security media and an EPC Gen 2 passive RFID tag. The company says it is not at liberty to disclose the manufacturer of the RFID tag or the tag model.

LaserCard's green card complies with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a directive on land-border crossings that facilitates legitimate travel and trade at U.S. land borders.

Mailing of the new card by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to legal permanent residents began on May 10 of this year. The green card is issued to lawful permanent residents as evidence of their authorization to live and work in the United States.

LaserCard has been shipping quantities of the new card to the DHS for several months under a previously announced contract, the company reports, and has supplied the U.S. government's optical security media-based green cards since 1997. The new card exploits LaserCard's enhanced visual and forensic security features, and includes an RFID tag to provide compliance with the WHTI program.

According to LaserCard, the new green card is the first implementation of optical security media and RFID on a single card platform.

"We worked closely with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to develop the most physically secure and counterfeit-resistant identification credentials available today," said Bob DeVincenzi, LaserCard's president and CEO, in a prepared statement. "This new version with enhanced visual and physical security puts a credible copy even further out of the reach of counterfeiters."