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

See Examples For:

first papers

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

At the start of the pandemic, Shane Crotty, of the La Jolla Institute of Immunology, published some of the first papers looking at the immune response to COVID.

From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2023

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

The foreigner votes on his first papers in eight states and a five years' residence will usually secure his naturalization and a consequent vote in any state.

From Woman Suffrage By Federal Constitutional Amendment by Catt, Carrie Chapman