U.S. Immigration by the Numbers

Immigration Statistics from the Department of Homeland Security

 

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How Many Refugees

58,179

Number of refugees to arrive in the U.S. in 2012.

44,416

The number of refugees from Asia, the region the U.S. took in the most refugees from in 2012. Africa came in second with 10,629.

15,070

The number of refugees from Bhutan, the country where the most refugees came to the U.S. from in 2012. Burma was second with 14,160.

Male vs. Female

Of the 58,179 refugees who came to the U.S. in 2012, 31,380 were male and 26,799 were female.

29,484

The number of individuals granted asylum in 2012.

4,768

The number of individuals granted asylum from China in 2012. The U.S. granted asylum to more people in China than any other country in 2012. Egypt was second with 2,576.

Naturalization

757,434

The number of people, in 2012, who became naturalized. Naturalization is the process by which foreign citizens obtain U.S. citizenship.

Leading Countries

Mexico (102,181), the Philippines (44,958), India (42,928), the Dominican Republic (33,351) and China (31,868) were the top countries of birth for the people granted U.S. citizenship in 2012.

Leading States

The largest number of persons naturalized in 2012 live in California (158,850), Florida (100,890) and New York (93,584).

Naturalization Increase

The number of persons becoming U.S. citizens increased from 619,913 in 2010 to 649,193 in 2011 to 757,434 in 2012.

Legal Permanent Residents

1,031,631

In 2012, the total number of people who became legal permanent residents of the United States. These individuals received their green card and therefore they may live and work permanently in the U.S. as well as own property, attend public schools, join certain Armed Forces and apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements.

Legal Permanent Resident Decrease

The number of individuals granted legal permanent residency decreased from 1,062,040 in 2011 to 1,031,631 in 2012.

California

The state with the most legal permanent residents in 2012 with 19 percent, followed by New York (15 percent), Florida (10 percent), Texas (9.3 percent) and New Jersey (4.9 percent).

31

The median age for individuals who became legal permanent residents in 2012. The median age of the native population of the U.S. in 2012 was 35 years.

600,961

The number of married individuals granted legal permanent residency in the U.S. in 2012.

New York City, Northern New Jersey, Long Island

The metropolitan area with the most legal permanent residents (179,011) in 2012. Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana had the second most (81,508).

Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2013