Legal Immigration

While there has been considerable attention on illegal immigration into the U.S. recently, opinions about legal immigration have undergone a long-term change.

The U.S. Census Bureau is planning to ask everyone living in the United States whether they are citizens when it conducts its next decennial census in 2020.

Most of the United States’ 20 largest immigrant groups experienced increases in naturalization rates between 2005 and 2015, with India and Ecuador posting the biggest increases among origin countries.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

Lawful immigrants account for three-quarters of the foreign-born population in the U.S. – 33.8 million people out of 44.7 million people in 2015.

While 67% of lawful immigrants eligible for naturalization had applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship by 2015, this share was only 42% among Mexicans.

The number of legal permanent residents applying for U.S. citizenship in the nine months starting last October is at its highest level in four years.

Between 2009 and 2014, about 140,000 more Mexican immigrants have returned to Mexico from the U.S. than have migrated here, citing family reunification as the main reason for leaving.

Survey Report With immigration shaping up to be a major issue in both the final years of the Obama administration and the 2016 presidential campaign, most Americans (72%) continue to say undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. should be allowed to stay in the country legally, if certain requirements are met. These views have […]