author: Sefi Atta

first appeared in StorySouth Issue 11, Spring 2004.

genre: Short story / fiction

narrator: A nine-year-old Nigerian girl whose parents are applying for US Green Cards.

setting: Immigration office in New Orleans, USA.

themes: Immigration, identity, family, belonging, cultural contrast

symbolism: The “green” (as in Green Card) plus the colour green itself plays symbolic roles.

author’s background: Nigerian-American; born in Lagos in 1964, has written novels and short stories.