Why won't machines accept my green card? [closed]
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Whenever I enter the US, I encounter machines at immigration that take a photo and print a receipt. They always print the receipt with an X on it so that I have to spend longer at the counter.
All of my family members' green cards (issued at the same time) work with these machines. I thought that this was due to my photo but when I applied for a driver's license, I was told the machines at the DMV could not process my green card either, which leads me to suspect that there is something wrong with my green card.
My card was issued in 2010 and is valid til 2020.
People at the desk never seem suspicious that my card was rejected, so I don't think that this is an uncommon issue.
Are there any known problems with old green cards not working with certain automated machines? How would I go about getting a green card that works better with these machines?
usa customs-and-immigration
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
closed as off-topic by Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Robert Columbia, Newton Jul 26 at 20:49
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions about immigration or moving for extended periods of time (studies or employment, among others) are off-topic. Our sister site, Expatriates Stack Exchange might be a better place to ask. See also the meta post Is it OK to ask questions about immigration?." – Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Newton
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
Whenever I enter the US, I encounter machines at immigration that take a photo and print a receipt. They always print the receipt with an X on it so that I have to spend longer at the counter.
All of my family members' green cards (issued at the same time) work with these machines. I thought that this was due to my photo but when I applied for a driver's license, I was told the machines at the DMV could not process my green card either, which leads me to suspect that there is something wrong with my green card.
My card was issued in 2010 and is valid til 2020.
People at the desk never seem suspicious that my card was rejected, so I don't think that this is an uncommon issue.
Are there any known problems with old green cards not working with certain automated machines? How would I go about getting a green card that works better with these machines?
usa customs-and-immigration
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
closed as off-topic by Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Robert Columbia, Newton Jul 26 at 20:49
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions about immigration or moving for extended periods of time (studies or employment, among others) are off-topic. Our sister site, Expatriates Stack Exchange might be a better place to ask. See also the meta post Is it OK to ask questions about immigration?." – Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Newton
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
1
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
1
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
1
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
Whenever I enter the US, I encounter machines at immigration that take a photo and print a receipt. They always print the receipt with an X on it so that I have to spend longer at the counter.
All of my family members' green cards (issued at the same time) work with these machines. I thought that this was due to my photo but when I applied for a driver's license, I was told the machines at the DMV could not process my green card either, which leads me to suspect that there is something wrong with my green card.
My card was issued in 2010 and is valid til 2020.
People at the desk never seem suspicious that my card was rejected, so I don't think that this is an uncommon issue.
Are there any known problems with old green cards not working with certain automated machines? How would I go about getting a green card that works better with these machines?
usa customs-and-immigration
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
Whenever I enter the US, I encounter machines at immigration that take a photo and print a receipt. They always print the receipt with an X on it so that I have to spend longer at the counter.
All of my family members' green cards (issued at the same time) work with these machines. I thought that this was due to my photo but when I applied for a driver's license, I was told the machines at the DMV could not process my green card either, which leads me to suspect that there is something wrong with my green card.
My card was issued in 2010 and is valid til 2020.
People at the desk never seem suspicious that my card was rejected, so I don't think that this is an uncommon issue.
Are there any known problems with old green cards not working with certain automated machines? How would I go about getting a green card that works better with these machines?
usa customs-and-immigration
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
asked Jul 26 at 8:38
Guy Montag
263
263
closed as off-topic by Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Robert Columbia, Newton Jul 26 at 20:49
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions about immigration or moving for extended periods of time (studies or employment, among others) are off-topic. Our sister site, Expatriates Stack Exchange might be a better place to ask. See also the meta post Is it OK to ask questions about immigration?." – Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Newton
closed as off-topic by Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Robert Columbia, Newton Jul 26 at 20:49
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions about immigration or moving for extended periods of time (studies or employment, among others) are off-topic. Our sister site, Expatriates Stack Exchange might be a better place to ask. See also the meta post Is it OK to ask questions about immigration?." – Musonius Rufus, Giorgio, CGCampbell, Newton
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
1
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
1
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
1
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
1
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
1
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
1
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
1
1
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
1
1
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
1
1
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
Like passports, your green card also has an RFID chip in it, which allows for machine reading. Occasionally, these chips stop working. If this chip is broken, then the Automated Passport Control kiosk will always reject it. The referral code printed on the X receipt should be TR in this case. The Android app ReadID can read the chip in passports and green cards, so you can tell for yourself if the chip is working or broken. (I'm not aware of an iOS app which can reliably read passport/ID chips.)
Since USCIS started issuing green cards with RFID chips in mid-2010, and your card was issued in 2010, it's also possible that you received one of the last cards without a chip.
In either case, if it really bothers you, you can get a replacement green card. But since that costs $455, you might want to wait until you have to replace it anyway at its expiration. Or you may be able to naturalize as a US citizen, but that's a topic for another site...
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
Like passports, your green card also has an RFID chip in it, which allows for machine reading. Occasionally, these chips stop working. If this chip is broken, then the Automated Passport Control kiosk will always reject it. The referral code printed on the X receipt should be TR in this case. The Android app ReadID can read the chip in passports and green cards, so you can tell for yourself if the chip is working or broken. (I'm not aware of an iOS app which can reliably read passport/ID chips.)
Since USCIS started issuing green cards with RFID chips in mid-2010, and your card was issued in 2010, it's also possible that you received one of the last cards without a chip.
In either case, if it really bothers you, you can get a replacement green card. But since that costs $455, you might want to wait until you have to replace it anyway at its expiration. Or you may be able to naturalize as a US citizen, but that's a topic for another site...
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
Like passports, your green card also has an RFID chip in it, which allows for machine reading. Occasionally, these chips stop working. If this chip is broken, then the Automated Passport Control kiosk will always reject it. The referral code printed on the X receipt should be TR in this case. The Android app ReadID can read the chip in passports and green cards, so you can tell for yourself if the chip is working or broken. (I'm not aware of an iOS app which can reliably read passport/ID chips.)
Since USCIS started issuing green cards with RFID chips in mid-2010, and your card was issued in 2010, it's also possible that you received one of the last cards without a chip.
In either case, if it really bothers you, you can get a replacement green card. But since that costs $455, you might want to wait until you have to replace it anyway at its expiration. Or you may be able to naturalize as a US citizen, but that's a topic for another site...
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
up vote
4
down vote
accepted
Like passports, your green card also has an RFID chip in it, which allows for machine reading. Occasionally, these chips stop working. If this chip is broken, then the Automated Passport Control kiosk will always reject it. The referral code printed on the X receipt should be TR in this case. The Android app ReadID can read the chip in passports and green cards, so you can tell for yourself if the chip is working or broken. (I'm not aware of an iOS app which can reliably read passport/ID chips.)
Since USCIS started issuing green cards with RFID chips in mid-2010, and your card was issued in 2010, it's also possible that you received one of the last cards without a chip.
In either case, if it really bothers you, you can get a replacement green card. But since that costs $455, you might want to wait until you have to replace it anyway at its expiration. Or you may be able to naturalize as a US citizen, but that's a topic for another site...
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
Like passports, your green card also has an RFID chip in it, which allows for machine reading. Occasionally, these chips stop working. If this chip is broken, then the Automated Passport Control kiosk will always reject it. The referral code printed on the X receipt should be TR in this case. The Android app ReadID can read the chip in passports and green cards, so you can tell for yourself if the chip is working or broken. (I'm not aware of an iOS app which can reliably read passport/ID chips.)
Since USCIS started issuing green cards with RFID chips in mid-2010, and your card was issued in 2010, it's also possible that you received one of the last cards without a chip.
In either case, if it really bothers you, you can get a replacement green card. But since that costs $455, you might want to wait until you have to replace it anyway at its expiration. Or you may be able to naturalize as a US citizen, but that's a topic for another site...
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
edited Jul 26 at 19:40
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
answered Jul 26 at 18:48
Michael Hampton
31.7k272155
31.7k272155
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
add a comment |Â
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
2
2
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
It's also possible that the green card in question was issued before the US started including RFID chips in green cards. Also, "machine readable" traditionally refers to the optical scanning of the document rather than RFID reading, although I suppose the distinction is probably blurring with time.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:23
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
@phoog Yeah, there's a slightly different term I can't recall offhand. If I do, I'll make an edit.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:26
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well as I suppose you know, for passports, the document is described as "biometric," or sometimes called an "e-passport," neither term being very helpful in identifying the technology for reading the data or in selecting a verb to describe the process of doing so.
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:31
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Well, the chip does have a high quality digital image of your face, well suited for facial recognition, so I guess that could be why they call it biometric. At least in recent passports.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:35
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
Absolutely, and they can also (and do in some countries' passports) contain fingerprints or other biometric data. My point was that the nature of the data (biometric) says nothing about the technology used to store and retrieve the data (RFID), so the word "biometric" doesn't lend itself to finding a more precise expression than "machine reading."
– phoog
Jul 26 at 19:40
add a comment |Â
Clash Royale CLAN TAG
Try joining a known traveller program eg cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry
– A E
Jul 26 at 13:32
1
This has nothing to do with expatriates. Closing for that reason is inappropriate. It's about crossing the border controls at a US port of entry.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:49
1
And Guy, I think you will find this useful.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 13:50
@MichaelHampton Huh, I never looked at the codes. Will do next time. Thanks
– Guy Montag
Jul 26 at 17:25
1
@phoog Expatriates may have a green card, but using one to go through passport control has always been a question for this site.
– Michael Hampton
Jul 26 at 19:17