Where are most legal immigrants coming from?

The research shows some interesting results.

Not too long ago, we took a look at an interesting map of the United States that showed the potpourri of languages that are spoken across the United States when you you look beyond English and Spanish. This week, we take a look at another map:

countries of origin of legal immigrants.

When we compare the two maps, we can see why Spanish is spoken so prevalently (after English) across the country: many of our lawful permanent residents formerly resided in Mexico. If we take Mexico out of the equation, we would see that many immigrants come from Asia: the Philippines, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Bhutan, and India.

(Thank you to the Dept. of Homeland Security and Ben Blatt/Slate for their work to produce this data and these images, respectively.)

This is probably not a fluke. Legal immigration from Asia has surpassed immigration from our neighbors to the south. Many Asians arrive in the United States as university students and then find pathways to remain in the United States long term.

(Source: Migration Policy Institute)

Wherever you may be from and whatever language you speak, if you are interested in learning about how you can make the United States your new permanent home, I invite you to contact me.