Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

People born in India ranked third after Mexico and China in a list of countries whose nationals were among over a million people who received legal permanent residence status (LPRs), popularly known as green cards, in the US last year, according to official figures. 

The list was topped by Mexicans with 139,120 green cards followed by Chinese with 70,863 and Indians with 69,169.

The number of Indians receiving green cards jumped significantly than the previous years -- 57,304 in 2009 and 63,352 in 2008.

"The leading countries of birth of new LPRs were Mexico (13 per cent), China (7 per cent), and India (7 per cent)," said a report issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
They were followed by Philippines (5.6 per cent) and the Dominican Republic (5.2 per cent), it said.

"These five countries accounted for nearly 38 per cent of all new LPRs in 2010," the report said.

Together, Asia and North America accounted for 70 per cent or more of the LPR flow each year from 2008 to 2010. However, the number of individuals granted LPR status in 2010 decreased 7.8 per cent from 1,130,818 in 2009 to 1,042,625.

Family-sponsored immigrants -- immediate relatives of US citizens and family preference classes of admission -- represented 66 per cent of the total LPR flow in 2010.

Immediate relatives of US citizens accounted for 46 per cent of all individuals granted LPR status in 2010. Spouses of US citizens represented 57 per cent of immediate relative LPRs.

Parents of US citizens accounted for 24 per cent, and children of US citizens, including adopted orphans, comprised 19 per cent.

According to the report, California was the state of residence of one-fifth (20 per cent) of persons granted LPR status in 2010.

Other leading states of residence included New York (14.2 per cent), Florida (10.3 per cent), Texas (8.4 per cent) and New Jersey (5.5 per cent). These five states represented the residence of 58 per cent of new LPRs in 2010, it said.

The leading metropolitan areas of residence for new LPRs in 2010 were New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA (17.8 per cent) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (8.4 per cent).

Other prominent metropolitan areas of residence included Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, in Florida, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet.

These five metropolitan areas accounted for the residence of 40 per cent of new LPRs in 2010, the report said.