A green card gives immigrants the legal right to live, work, and study in the United States and, ultimately, become American citizens. Here, we have a selection of green card statistics that may surprise you. There are many assumptions made abound green cards and immigrants, and many of those assumptions are just not true.
Here’s the thing:
A green card is issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and having this means you can live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. There are a number of ways of getting a green card. Some go through family, others through employment, and some use the lottery. Green card lottery stats tend to be some of the most surprising stats and facts out there.
However, not everybody qualifies for a green card. Green card statistics show that the wait could be as long as 20 years, even if you do qualify.
(Investopedia)
US immigration statistics show that the DV program issues around 50,000 immigrant visas annually, based on the results of a random drawing. The visas tend to be apportioned among countries with “historically low rates of immigration to the US.”
More than 22.4 million people applied to the green card lottery in 2017. The first 50,000 to register after notification were the “winners” for that year. The reason for drawing more than 50,000 names is that not everyone selected will start the green-card application process, and many may not end up completing it.
(Investopedia)
DV lottery statistics change each year because the list of countries is subject to change each year. The countries appear on the diversity visa entry instructions page. At the moment these countries are in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, plus South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
(CNN)
The H1B statistics show that the US issued 179,049 visas in 2017. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
These workers tend to be highly skilled professionals in fields including engineering, technology, medicine, and higher education.
There are three subcategories of H-1B visas:
(USCIS)
A permanent resident card (also known as the green card), will be issued to all permanent residents as proof they can live and work in the USA. Having this valid card on your person at all times is compulsory.
If you lose your green card, you will need to file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, as soon as possible. However, USCIS statistics show it can take up to six months to get your card, and this may be a problem if you are starting a new job.
(CNN)
Although there are many positive visa statistics, a visa approved by a consular officer in the traveler’s home country does not guarantee admission to the United States.
Officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), may deny a traveler permission to enter the United States for a number of reasons.
(CNN)
A visitor can use their visa for multiple trips to the US while the visa is still valid, but CBP determines the length of the stay for each visit. The maximum length of stay per trip will usually be six months. The only way the traveler will not have to return home when the designated period ends is if they have had it extended by officials.
(CNN)
Although many of the US legal immigration statistics are positive, people do overstay their welcome. 1.33% did so in 2017. That amounts to 701,900 travelers out of almost 52.7 million tourists and business travelers that year.
(EPI)
Unauthorized immigrants account for around 3.7% of the population and around 5.2% of the labor force.
(EPI)
One of the most surprising green card facts is that the majority of immigrants in the US are not Hispanic or Latino, like many people believe.
If you want a better idea, you can look at green card statistics by country. Looking carefully at green card lottery statistics by country will help you to see where the majority of immigrants are from and how diverse the immigrant pool is.
(EPI)
More than half of immigrants are holding down white-collar jobs. The perception that all immigrants work low wage jobs is inaccurate, even though many white-collar jobs don’t pay all that well.
Around 46% of immigrants have at least some college education.
(EPI)
While many immigrants are not poor, employment-based green card statistics suggest that 20% live below the poverty line. Nationally, and in many states, the income of immigrant families is not very different from that of non-immigrant families, although individual earnings are lower for immigrants overall.
What’s surprising is the case of unauthorized immigrants whose household incomes are at least twice the poverty level, illegal immigration statistics reveal.
(Pew Research Center)
Diversity lottery statistics show that over 200 million people from all over the world have applied for the program.
Eight countries had at least a million applicants in 2016, accounting for more than half of the total:
(Pew Research Center)
How many visas were issued in 2018? Around 1 million, like every other year. However, only 5% of those are from the diversity lottery. Green card approval statistics are actually lower at the moment than they have been in the past.
(Pew Research Center)
Green card application statistics prove that where immigrants come from has changed and will continue to change over time.
When the diversity lottery first started in the fiscal year 1995, citizens of European countries, including those that were part of the former Soviet Union, received the largest number of diversity visas (about 24,000).
In fiscal 2017, which ended on September 30, the largest number of visas went to citizens of African countries (about 19,000), while applicants from European countries (nearly 21,000) and from Asia (almost 8,000) received fewer visas
A: Green card lottery drawing is one of the easiest ways to legally move to the USA. However, green card lottery winner statistics show that the average chance of winning a Green Card to live the American Dream is about 1:25 to 1:75, depending on the region and year (for Europeans currently around 1:45).
A: 50 000 immigration visas are played out under this program, and they are distributed among 100 000 winners from around the world. Many don’t meet the requirements for receiving a green card after checking, which is why more winners are chosen than visas.
A: Green card statistics show that for the 2019 green card draw, only 87 610 winners were selected. A total of 4 025 Ukrainians, 3 641 Russians, 1 355 Belarusians, and 214 Israelis are among the winners at the moment.
A: According to the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, the United States admitted 1.18 million legal immigrants in 2016. Green card statistics change every year, though.
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