U.S. Department of Homeland Security Released Immigration Statistics Update
U.S. Legal Permanent Residents: 2011
RANDALL MONGER AND JAMES YANKAY
A legal permanent resident (LPR) or “green card” recipient is a person who has been granted lawful permanent residence defined by immigration law in the United States. LPR status confers certain rights and responsibilities. In the year of 2011, annual flow report from office of immigration statistics presents information obtained from applications for LPR status on the number and characteristics of person who became LPRs in the United States.
In 2011, there are 1,062,040 persons became LPRs of the United States. Nearly 65 % of new LPRs got their permanent resident status based on a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States and 55% LPRs were already lived in the United States. The leading countries of birth of new LPRs were Mexico (14%), China (8.2%), and India (6.5%).
The Legal Immigration Process
Admission Priorities
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and its amendments are the basis for most immigration laws in effect today. U.S. law gives priority for immigration status to foreign nationals who have a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen or LPR, needed job skills, refugee or asylee status, or who are from countries with relatively low levels of immigration to the United States.
Preference Immigration and Diversity Limits
The term preference is used in immigration law to designate priority categories for LPR status. As specified by the Immigration Act of 1990, an annual limit of between 416,000 and 675,000 currently exists for Family-Sponsored Preference, Employment-Based Preference, and Diversity Immigrants:
Family-Sponsored Preferences consist of four categories: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their children; spouses, children, and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and their children; married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children; and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens aged 21 years and older and their spouses and children. The annual limit for family-sponsored preferences ranges from 226,000 to 480,000 (See APPENDIX for more details on the limit calculations).
Employment-Based Preferences consist of five categories of workers (and their spouses and children): priority workers; professionals with advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability; skilled workers, professionals (without advanced degrees), and needed unskilled workers; certain special immigrants (e.g., ministers, religious workers, and employees of the U.S. government abroad); and employment creation immigrants or “investors.” The employment-based preference limit is equal to 140,000 plus any unused visas in the family-sponsored preferences from the previous year.
Diversity Immigrants are nationals of countries with low rates of legal immigration to the United States. The Diversity Visa Program is available to nationals of countries with fewer than 50,000 admissions during the preceding five years in the employment-based and family-sponsored preferences and immediate relative classes of admission. The annual diversity visa limit has been 50,000 since 1999. The per-country limit of diversity visas was 3,500 in 2011.
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens
Some LPR admission categories are exempt from the annual numeric limits for preference and diversity immigration. The largest category numerically is immediate relative typically account for more than 40 percent of the annual LPR flow. New LPRs in the immediate relatives and family-sponsored preference categories of admission are collectively referred to as family-sponsored immigrants.
Refugee and Asylee Adjustments of Status
As defined by the Refugee Act of 1980, is established by the President in consultation with Congress. The ceiling on refugee admissions was set at 70,000 from 2003 to 2007 and 80,000 from 2008 to 2011. There is no numerical limit on the number of persons who can be granted asylum status in a year.
Refugees are required to apply for adjustment to legal permanent resident status after one year of residence in the United States. Asylees are eligible to apply one year after they are granted asylum. Refugee and asylee adjustments of status are exempt from preference and diversity annual numerical limits. Until 2005, an annual limit of 10,000 existed on the number of persons authorized to adjust status as asylees. The REAL ID Act removed that cap.
Paths to LPR Status
There are two paths to LPR status depending on whether the applicant is living in the United States or another country at the time of application:
- Foreign nationals living abroad apply for an immigrant visa at a consular office of the Department of State. Once issued a visa, a foreign national may enter the United States and become an LPR when admitted at a port of entry.
- Persons who qualify for legal permanent resident status who are living in the United States, including refugees, asylees, and certain temporary workers, foreign students, family members of U.S. citizens or alien residents, and undocumented immigrants, file an application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). At the time they apply for adjustment of status, they may also apply for permission to work. Adjustment of status applicants are granted lawful permanent residence at the time their applications are approved.
Eligibility for Naturalization
Most legal permanent residents who are at least 18 years of age are eligible to apply for citizenship after meeting certain requirements; including 5 years of lawful permanent residency in the United States or 3 years for those married to a United States citizen and successful completion of English language, civics, and history tests. Legal immigrant children under 18 years of age may automatically acquire citizenship when a parent naturalizes.
The data presented in this report were obtained from the Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS) of USCIS. Information recorded in CLAIMS includes class of admission, date the applicant was granted lawful permanent residence, country of birth, country of last residence, date of birth, marital status, geographic residence, occupation, and, for adjustments of status, prior nonimmigrant status and date of most recent entry as a nonimmigrant. The number and demographic composition of new LPRs are affected by many factors including changes to immigration legislation and procedure and volatility in application levels at USCIS.
TRENDS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS
The number of individuals granted LPR status in 2011 increased 1.9% from 1,042,625 in 2010 to 1,062,040 (see Table 1). LPR adjustments of status increased from 566,576 in 2010 to 580,092 in 2011. New arrival LPRs increased 1.2% from 476,049 in 2010 to 481,948 in 2011. 55% of LPRs in 2011 were adjustments of status and 45% were new arrivals.
The annual LPR flow has exhibited an upward trend since World War II (see Figure 1). The average annual LPR flow increased from 250,000 during the 1950s to more than 1 million between 2000 and 2011. Changes in immigration law associated with this increase included the elimination of country quotas controlling Eastern Hemisphere immigration, increases in annual limits for hemispheric and preference immigration, and the inclusion of parents of adult U.S. citizens as numerically exempt immediate relatives.
Category of Admission
- Family-sponsored immigrants represented 65% of the total LPR flow in 2011 (see Table 2).
- Spouses of U.S. citizens represented 57% of immediate relative LPRs.
- Parents of U.S. citizens accounted for 25%, and children of U.S. citizens, including adopted orphans, comprised 18%.
- More than 22% of new LPRs in 2011 were admitted under a family-sponsored preference.
- The second preference (spouses and children of alien residents) accounted for 46% of family-sponsored preference LPRs.
- The fourth preference (siblings of U.S. citizens) comprised 30%.
- Immigrants admitted under an employment-based preference accounted for 13% of the LPR flow in 2011.
- The second preference (professionals with advanced degrees) represented 48% of new employment-based preference LPRs. This large proportion was due to the increased availability of unused visas from the other employment preferences.
- The third preference (skilled workers, professionals, unskilled workers) represented 27%,
- The first preference (priority workers) accounted for 18%.
- The number of new LPRs admitted under an employ-ment-based preference declined 6.1% between 2010 and 2011 because of a decrease in the annual limit for the employment preferences in 2011.
- Refugee and asylee immigrant classes of admission represented 16% of the total LPR flow in 2011.
- Refugee adjustments accounted for 11%;
- Asylee adjustments represented 5.2%.
- Diversity immigrant classes of admission accounted for 4.7% of the total LPR flow in 2011.
Region and Country of Birth
The leading regions of birth of new LPRs in 2011 were Asia (43%) and North America (31%) (see Table 3). Together, Asia and North America accounted for 70% or more of the LPR flow each year from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, 14% of all persons granted LPR status were born in Mexico. Other prominent countries of birth were China (8.2%), India (6.5%), Philippines (5.4%), and the Dominican Republic (4.3%). These five countries accounted for nearly 38% of all new LPRs in 2011. The number of persons granted LPR status who were born in China increased by 23% from 2010 to 2011. Asylee adjustments accounted for most of this increase.
State and Metropolitan Area of Residence
California was the state of residence of one-fifth (20%) of persons granted LPR status in 2011 (see Table 4). Other leading states of residence included New York (14%), Florida (10%), Texas (8.9%), and New Jersey (5.2%). These five states represented the residence of 58% of new LPRs in 2011. The leading metropolitan area of residence for new LPRs in 2011 was New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA (17%) (see Table 5). Other prominent metropolitan areas of residence included Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (8.1%), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL (6.8%), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (3.7%), and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI (3.3%). These five metropolitan areas accounted for the residence of 39% of new LPRs in 2011.
Age, Gender, and Marital Status
New LPRs have historically been younger than the native population of the United States. In 2011, the median age for persons becoming LPRs was 31 years; in contrast, the median age of the U.S. native population was 35 years (see Table 6). New LPRs are more likely to be female than the native U.S. population. In 2011, females accounted for 55% of persons granted LPR status (see Table 7) compared with 51% for the U.S. native population. The majority (56%) of new LPRs were married compared with 38% of the native population (see Table 8).
APPENDIX
Preference immigration limits
Family-sponsored Preferences Limit
The annual limit is calculated as 480,000 minus the number of aliens who were issued visas or who adjusted to LPR status in the previous fiscal year as;
- Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.
- Children born subsequent to the issuance of a visa to an accompanying parent.
- Children born abroad to lawful permanent residents on temporary trips abroad minus.
- Certain categories of aliens paroled into the United States in the second preceding fiscal year plus.
- Unused visas in the employment preferences in the pre-ceding year.
The family-sponsored preference limit may not fall below a mini-mum of 226,000 in any year. The number of legal permanent residents issued visas or who adjusted status in 2010 under categories 1 to 4 above was 479,487. There were 388 unused visas in the employment preferences in 2010. The calculated limit for family-sponsored preferences in 2011 was 901 (480,000 minus 479,487 plus 388). Since this number was below 226,000, the family-sponsored preferences limit was set at 226,000. The limit for each category is shown above (see Table A1).
Employment-based Preference Limit
The annual limit is equal to 140,000 plus unused visas in the family-sponsored preferences in the previous fiscal year. There were zero unused visas in the family-sponsored preferences in 2010. The 2011 employment-based preference limit was 140,000. The limit is 28.6% of the total for each of the first three employment preferences and 7.1% for each of the last two preferences.
Per Country and Dependent Area Limits
A limit of 7% of the total family-sponsored and employment-based preferences is set for independent countries, and a limit of 2% is set for dependent areas. The 2011 per country limit for independent foreign states was 25,620, and the limit for dependencies was 7,320.
Diversity Limits
The annual limit for diversity visas was 50,000 in 2011.