LaserCard Supplies Next Generation Green Cards With RFID Tag

LaserCard Corporation announced the introduction of the next-generation U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) featuring advanced optical security media and, for the first time, a Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) tag for compliance with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

Mailing of the new card by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to legal permanent residents began May 10. Designed and manufactured by LaserCard, 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 DHS for several months under a previously announced contract.

LaserCard has supplied the U.S. government’s optical security media-based Green Cards since 1997. Over this time, with more than 20 million cards issued, the digital security of the card has never been compromised. The new card exploits LaserCard’s program of continual innovation which has resulted in progressively enhanced visual and forensic security features. In addition, the card incorporates an RFID tag to provide compliance with the WHTI program, which facilitates legitimate travel and trade at U.S. land borders.

The new Green Card is the world’s first implementation of optical security media and RFID on a single card platform. LaserCard and its supplier partners pioneered new construction techniques to ensure a robust and reliable credential with sophisticated, tamperproof features. The card also features an optical security media configuration optimized to meet DHS’s requirement for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)-standards for ID cards used in travel applications.

“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, president and CEO of LaserCard. “In 1998, the implementation of LaserCard’s technology on the Green Card effectively put a halt to mass counterfeiting. This new version with enhanced visual and physical security puts a credible copy even further out of the reach of counterfeiters.”

“The security of valuable documents is an increasingly important focus for our country. With its multiple innovations and technology advances, we see this latest version of the Green Card as the ID equivalent of the new U.S. $100 bill,” continued DeVincenzi.

It is anticipated that the next generation card will establish a new level of excellence in world class credentials. In a study of international government identity programs, industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan highlighted the U.S. Green Card as the most secure government ID credential available today. Rufus Connell, vice president of the firm’s security and identity practice, commented: “Concerns surrounding the legitimacy of ID cards have heightened the focus of governments worldwide on the prevention of security breaches and large scale counterfeiting. In the case of the original Green Card, LaserCard’s technology approach has served as a highly effective solution to this issue. The next generation U.S. Green Card builds on these major security features and raises the bar for secure international government ID programs.”

Security Features
The Green Card’s new graphic design includes high resolution offset printing and other visual security features. Innovations that further enhance the optical security media include:

• High resolution security artwork: resolved at up to 25,000 dots per inch, beyond the capability of scanning, copying and printing technologies used in replication or simulation
• Large high contrast, high resolution tamperproof cardholder image: laser etched onto the optical security media (LaserCard’s Personalized Embedded HologramHD)

In addition, the optical media securely stores digital information including the cardholder’s photograph, fingerprint, name, digitized signature, date of birth and registration number. This information cannot be erased or fraudulently altered and private data can be read only by DHS personnel using a custom secure reader.