Difference Between U.S. Green Card and U.S. Citizenship

Even people who live in the U.S. are sometimes confused by the difference between the two main statuses held by people with long-term rights to live and work here: lawful permanent residence (holding a green card) and U.S. citizenship. Let’s look at the similarities and differences.

For someone immigrating to the U.S. on a permanent basis, lawful permanent residence is usually the necessary first step. For example, people may become lawful permanent residents after being petitioned for (often called “sponsored”) by a spouse or close family member or an employer; after receiving refugee status or asylum; after winning the diversity visa lottery; and in various other categories. For more information on eligibility for a U.S. green card, see “Who Qualifies for a Green Card.”

In most cases, green card holders must wait some years before applying to become U.S. citizens, through a process called “naturalization.” Other ways that people can become U.S. citizens include by birth in the U.S. and by birth overseas to a U.S. citizen parent.

The main exception to this rule is for members of the U.S. military who can, in some cases, go from having no status to having U.S. citizenship.

Rights and Benefits of U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence

A lawful permanent resident receives a photo identity card that is, literally, green. The card is evidence that he or she has the right to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis; to travel and return; and to petition for close family members to also receive green cards.

However, green card holders cannot do everything that U.S. citizens can. They cannot vote in U.S. elections. They cannot remain outside the U.S. for unlimited amounts of time or make their home elsewhere – doing so will result in abandonment of their residency and refusal of their request to reenter the United States. They can lose their residency rights by failing to advise U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of changes in their address, committing crimes or acts of espionage or terrorism, and more.

That’s why it is wise for permanent residents to apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as possible. For information on doing that, see “Who Can Apply for U.S. Citizenship.”

Rights and Benefits of U.S. Citizenship

U.S. citizenship is the highest status someone can attain under U.S. immigration law. It means a permanent right to live in the United States; no longer subject to the grounds of deportability that affect green card holders. The only way someone can take a former immigrant’s citizenship status away is if that person committed fraud in obtaining it in the first place.

U.S. citizens can vote, and can petition for a longer list of foreign national family members to join them in the U.S. than permanent residents can – for example, unlike green card holders, they can petition for their parents (as immediate relatives), their married children, and their brothers and sisters (in the fourth preference category – it’s a long wait).