The total foreign-born population residing in the United States in 2016 was 43.7 million, or 13.4% of the US population. Persons born in Mexico accounted for 26.5% of the foreign-born population, followed by India (5.6%), the People’s Republic of China (4.9%), and the Philippines (4.4%).
There were 1 183 500 new lawful permanent residents (LPR) in FY (Fiscal Year) 2016, of whom about half were new arrivals to the United States. This annual increase of 12.6% was the third increase in a row. However, preliminary figures for FY2017 suggest a 4.4% drop, mostly due to fewer new arrivals.
In FY2016, Asia accounted for about 39% of all LPR, followed by North America 36%, Africa 9.6% and Europe 7.9%. Family-sponsored immigrants and immediate relatives of US citizens accounted for 68% of all persons granted LPR status, while 11.7% were employment-based (including accompanying family members). 13.3% became LPRs after being granted refugee status or asylum. Family migration was largest (80.3%) among South Americans, while employment‑based preference was largest for Europe and Oceania (22.8%).
A total of 85 000 refugees were resettled in FY2016; in addition, 20 500 individuals already present in the United States were granted asylum, 39% fewer than in FY2015. Resettled refugees were mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (19%) followed by Syria (15%) and Myanmar (15%). For FY2017 the refugee admission ceiling, set at 110 000 under the previous administration, was not reached, 54 000 were admitted. Refugee admission has been capped to 45 000 for FY2018, its lowest level since the programme began in 1980.
Asylum applications at the border and in the United States have increased. In FY 2016, 93 000 individuals who claimed a credible fear were screened (73% from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), while the number of affirmative applications filled reached 115 000, a 20-year high. In the first three quarters of FY2017, 61 000 credible fear referrals were registered and 111 000 new affirmative asylum applications were lodged. The backlog of pending asylum cases reached 311 000 in January 2018; since then, applications have been handled on a last-in, first out basis.
Non‑immigrant temporary visas fell 4.7% in FY2016 and 2.7% in FY2017, after years of increase. International student admissions have fallen sharply (-26% in FY2016, to 502 000, and -16.2% in FY2017, to 421 000); students are no longer the leading category. Students from China and India – half of the total – comprise a shrinking share – down by 61% and 39% respectively from 2015 to 2017.
Temporary foreign workers (H visas) rose sharply in the past two years (+11.5% in FY2016 and 5.7% in FY2017). The H-1B (temporary specialty occupation workers) cap was reached in the first week of applications in recent years, leading to a lottery to attribute the 65 000 visas available, with 20 000 exempt from the cap due to the worker holding an advanced US degree. Premium processing has been temporarily suspended for FY2018 cap-subject H-1B petitions only.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing administrative actions taken by the previous administration. A suggested rule expected in mid-2018 would propose to revoke the 2015 provision for certain spouses of H-1B to access employment. Other programmes under review include extensions for post-graduation employment authorisations for certain foreign students, temporary admission for international entrepreneurs, and eligibility rules for intra-company transferees. In addition, DHS is working on regulations to strengthen EB-5 programmes, to further define inadmissibility based on public charge grounds, and to expand biometrics requirements. Legislative proposals under discussion include the termination of the Diversity Visa, the shift to a merit-based system for prioritising applications and selection and changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
81 000 foreigners were removed from the interior of the country in FY2017, with a strong increase (+37%) since January 2017. Border removals fell, leading the total number of removals during FY2017 to fall by 5.9% to 226 100 (240 400 in FY2016 and 409 800 at the peak in FY2012).
There were 703 000 naturalisations in FY2017 and 753 000 in FY2016. About 56% are women. In FY2017, the largest groups were Mexican nationals (118 200), followed by Indians (49 600), Chinese (37 600) and Filipinos (36 300).
On 5 September 2017, the termination of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was announced. Due to federal court orders, USCIS continues to accept certain renewal requests, but not new applications. Legislative solutions have been discussed, but not advanced.
Among executive orders issued was Executive Order 13780 (March 2017) which limited travel to the U.S. from certain countries. Following court challenges, Presidential Proclamation 9645 in September 2017 restricted travel from Chad, Iran, Libya, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. The restriction went into effect in December 2017. Another executive order directs government agencies to “to propose new rules and issue new guidance […] to protect the interests of United States workers in the administration of [the] immigration system” Finally, TPS was terminated for several countries, including El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.
