first papers

American  

plural noun

Informal.

1. an official declaration of intention filed by a resident alien desiring to become a U.S. citizen: not required by law after 1952.

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Etymology

Origin of first papers

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economist, has known Summers since graduate school and coauthored one of the first papers Summers published in an academic journal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

In 1980, one of Warren’s first papers as a full-time professor at the University of Houston took on one of the most divisive political issues of the time: utilities.

From Slate • Apr. 22, 2019

Ankita Patnaik, an economist at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington DC, authored one of the first papers studying QPIP.

From The Guardian • Jun. 15, 2018

In my “Political Development of Western Europe” course this semester, which is essentially an extended reflection on the origins of fascism and democracy, students are writing their first papers.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2017

Further on, 'Na' means Naturalized, 'Al' stands for Alien, 'Pa' that first papers have been taken out, and 'Un' unknown.

From The Boy With the U.S. Census by Rolt-Wheeler, Francis