Immigration Facts at a Glance

Legal immigration in 2006 (1,266,264) was significantly higher than in 2003 (705,827).
31% of all immigrants were born in North America (14% in Mexico) and 35.7% were born in Asia.

64% of all immigrants intended to reside in six states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois.

In 2006, the median age of the immigrant population was 31 years old, were made up of 56% women, and 58% were married.

Refugee arrivals decreased by 23% from 53,738 in 2005 to 41,150 in 2006.

USCIS Asylum Officers granted asylum to 26,113 in 2006, an increase from 25,160 in 2005.

Total nonimmigrant admissions in 2006 was 33.7 million. Of that population, half were from four countries: the United Kingdom, 15%; Mexico, 18%; Japan, 13%; and Germany, 5.1%.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) naturalized 705,589 persons in ifscal year 2006. The largest populations came from Mexico, India, Philippines, China and Vietnam.
California was the intended residence of 17% of persons naturalized and Florida was second with 15%.

The number of deportable aliens located during 2006 declined slightly from 2005 from 1,291,142 to 1,206,457.

The number of naturalized applications increased by 130,000 in 2006.

In 2006, the median time between the date of legal immigration and the date of naturalization was 7 years.

Source: US Citizenship and Immigration Services