INS UPDATES GREEN CARD TO THWART CHANGES, FAKES.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Green cards turned green again Tuesday, when the Immigration and Naturalization Service presented the latest in tamper-proof and counterfeit-resistant features.

Redesigned to protect against fraud and help employers comply with immigration laws, the new version looks like a credit card and includes high-tech security features such as digital photographs and fingerprints.

And, for the first time in years, the cards are actually green.

The changes should cut into the trade in counterfeit cards.

Last year, the INS district office in Los Angeles confiscated 100,000 fake green cards from counterfeiters, according to INS District Director Richard K. Rogers.

``It's a big business,'' said Rogers, who said he believes most of those illegal cards were used to trick employers.

The new cards are ``going to help significantly because of the fact there is a lot of technology in the new card. Hopefully, this will bring us into the 21st century.''

The INS issues green cards to legal permanent residents as proof of their authorization to live and work in the United States.

More than 10 million green-card holders will be affected by this change, which will be phased in gradually. On Tuesday, the INS issued the first 50,000 cards to people with approved permanent resident status and those who had applied to renew expired cards.

Cards issued since 1989 are valid for 10 years, while cards issued from 1977 up to 1989, which don't have an expiration date, remain valid until the INS begins its official replacement program sometime in the future.

The INS expects to produce 1.2 million of the new green cards a year, and will remake other INS cards such as its laser visas and foreign student cards.

Officially named the Alien Registration Receipt Card in the 1940s, the new green card also comes with a new name - the Permanent Resident Card - to more clearly identify the immigration status of the card holder.

The term ``green card'' was coined in the 1950s as immigration attorneys, law enforcement officers and immigrants found the official title cumbersome and began calling it after its color.

While the previous laminated green card was easily altered, the new laminated cover is designed so that tampering causes it to fall apart.

Now, employers will be able to verify a card's authenticity through more visible security features, such as a hologram depicting the Statue of Liberty, the letters ``U.S.A.'' in large print, an outline of the United States and the INS seal on the front side.

The back side of the card has an optical memory stripe encoded with the card-holder's signature, birth date, registration number and photograph to prevent erasure or alteration.

Though it only costs about $10 to produce each card, holders must pay a $75 filing fee when they renew.

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PHOTO The Permanent Resident Card has multiple anti-counterfeit features, including a hologram, magnetic strip and microprinting.

David Sprague/Daily News