Posted on April 3, 2013

DHS: Legal Immigrants from Asia Outnumbered Latin Americans in FY2012

Terence P. Jeffrey, CNS News, April 2, 2013

Legal immigrants to the United States from Asia outnumbered legal immigrants from any other region of the world in fiscal 2012, according to new data from the Department of Homeland Security.

That makes 2012 the second year in a row when Asia has been the number one source of legal immigrants to the Untied States, with Asian immigrants outnumbering immigrants from Europe, from Africa, and from the entire continents of North and South America combined.

429,599 people from Asian nations were granted permanent legal resident status in the United States in fiscal 2012, according to DHS. By contrast, a combined 407,172 people from nations in North America (327,771) and South America (79,401) were granted permanent legal resident status. 107,241 new legal permanent residents in fiscal 2012 came from African nations, 81,671 from European nations, and 4,742 from Oceania.

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Overall, legal immigration has declined slightly during the Obama presidency. In fiscal 2009, which started in October 2008, the United States granted 1,130,818 people permanent legal resident status, according to DHS. In fiscal 2010, it was 1,042,625; in fiscal 2011, it was 1,062,040; and in fiscal 2012, it was 1,031,631.

The majority of legal immigrants to the United States in fiscal 2012 were relatives of people already here, according to DHS. “Nearly 66 percent of the new LPRs were granted permanent resident status based on a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States,” said a DHS report on the fiscal 2012 immigration data.

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Here are the 25 nations that provided the largest number of legal immigrants to the United States in fiscal 2012:

Nation……………………….Legal Immigrants

1. Mexico…………………….146,406

2. China……………………….81,784

3. India…………………………66,434

4. Philippines……………….57,327

5. Dominican Republic….41,566

6. Cuba………………………..32,820

7. Vietnam……………………28,304

8. Haiti………………………….22,818

9. Colombia………………….20,931

10. South Korea…………….20,846

11. Jamaica…………………..20,705

12. Iraq………………………….20,369

13. Burma……………………..17,383

14. El Salvador………………16,256

15. Pakistan…………………..14,740

16. Bangladesh………………14,705

17. Ethiopia……………………14,544

18. Nigeria……………………..13,575

19. Canada…………………….12,932

20. Iran……………………………12,916

21. Peru…………………………..12,609

22. United Kingdom…………12,014

23. Brazil…………………………11,441

24. Nepal…………………………11,312

25. Ghana………………………..10,592