Legal Immigration and Adjustment of Status Report Fiscal Year 2022, Quarter 3

Recent Trends

Approximately¹ 280,000 noncitizens obtained lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the third quarter (Q3) of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 (see Table 1A). Approximately 116,000 noncitizens entered the United States as new arrivals, a 94 percent increase from FY 2021 Q3. Over 163,000 noncitizens adjusted status from within the United States, a 34 percent increase from FY 2021 Q3. These significant increases show a return to more typical levels after COVID-19-related public health challenges in 2021 resulted in a reduction in the volume of in-person services provided at USCIS field offices in order to increase safety and accommodate social distancing protocols, as well as travel restrictions and closures in the United States and worldwide.  

Countries of Nationality

In FY 2022 Q3, 38 percent of new LPRs were from the top five countries of nationality:  Mexico, India, the People’s Republic of China (China), the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic (see Table 1A). In FY 2021 Q3, the top five countries of nationality (Mexico, India, China, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic) represented 39 percent of new LPRs.

Classes and Modes of Admission

The largest LPR class of admission (40 percent) in FY 2022 Q3 was comprised of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, followed by 27 percent of LPRs who obtained status as employment-based preferences, and 14 percent who obtained status as family-sponsored preferences. Asylee admissions, the next largest class of admission, accounted for 9 percent of LPRs (see Table 1B). In FY 2021 Q3, the majority of new LPRs were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (57 percent), followed by employment-based preferences (21 percent), family-sponsored preferences (10 percent), and refugees (5 percent).

Data Sources

USCIS provided LPR data from its Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS) and its Electronic Immigration System (ELIS).² CLAIMS includes information from DHS Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, which is used by applicants living in the United States. ELIS includes information from certain Form I-485 records, as well as applications for LPR status submitted by applicants living abroad. ELIS automatically confirms the applicant’s status based on one of two Department of State forms:  either Form DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, or Form DS-260, Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration.

Recent Trends

About 6,300 refugees were admitted to the United States in FY 2022 Q3 (see Table 2), a 133 percent increase from FY 2021 Q3, when only about 2,700 refugees were admitted. These significant increases show a slight recovery from COVID-19-related public health challenges, though numbers have not yet resumed pre-COVID-19 levels in proportion to the refugee ceiling.

Countries of Nationality

In FY 2022 Q3, 75 percent of refugees arrived from the top five countries of nationality: Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Burma, and Ukraine (see Table 2). In FY 2021 Q3, the top five countries of nationality (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Syria, Burma, and Ukraine) accounted for 79 percent of refugee arrivals.

Data Sources

Refugee data presented in Table 2 are from the Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS) of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the U.S. Department of State.

Recent Trends

More than 248,000 persons naturalized in FY 2022 Q3 (see Table 3), a 7 percent increase from FY 2021 Q3, when approximately 233,000 persons naturalized. These 2022 data for Q3 represent a return to pre-COVID levels.

Countries of Nationality

Thirty-four percent of naturalizations in FY 2022 Q3 consisted of persons from the top five countries of nationality:  Mexico, India, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic (see Table 3). In FY 2021 Q3, the top five countries of nationality (Mexico, India, the Philippines, Cuba, and China) accounted for 37 percent of naturalizations.

Data Sources

Naturalization data presented in Table 3 come from administrative records of DHS Form N-400 applications recorded in the USCIS ELIS data system.

Detailed data on nonimmigrants in this report are based on I-94/I-94W information, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses to record certain nonimmigrant admissions (collectively referred to as I-94 nonimmigrant admissions).³ Prior to FY 2022 Q2, data on nonimmigrant admissions were lagged a quarter due to CBP’s data reporting closeout process. Nonimmigrant admissions data are now on the same schedule as other data sources in this report.

Recent Trends

In FY 2022 Q3, DHS recorded a total (i.e., including both I-94 and estimated non-I-94 admissions) of 26.8 million nonimmigrant admissions to the United States. Specifically, this included approximately 12.7 million I-94 nonimmigrant admissions (see Table 4B), a 219 percent increase from FY 2021 Q3. These significant increases coincided with ongoing immigration system recovery from COVID-19-related public health challenges.

Countries of Nationality

Five countries of nationality – Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, India, and France – accounted for 60 percent of I-94 nonimmigrant admissions in FY 2022 Q3 (see Table 4A). In FY 2021 Q3, the top five countries of nationality (Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Peru, and Ecuador) accounted for 60 percent of I-94 nonimmigrant admissions.

Classes of Admission

Seventy-nine percent of I-94 nonimmigrants admitted in FY 2022 Q3 were temporary visitors entering for pleasure, followed by temporary visitors for business (10 percent), and temporary workers and families (6 percent; see Table 4B). In FY 2021 Q3, these classes of admissions represented 73 percent, 9 percent, and 12 percent of I-94 nonimmigrant admissions.

Data Sources

Data on total nonimmigrant admissions come from DHS workload estimates. Detailed data on I-94 nonimmigrant admissions are based on DHS Form I-94/I-94W arrival records in the CBP TECS database.

1. Numbers in this report are rounded.  For precise numbers, please refer to the data tables.
2. USCIS built the ELIS case management system as a part of its Transformation Program–an agency-wide modernization initiative to enable end-to-end electronic benefit case processing.  Currently, ELIS receives and processes a variety of USCIS form types; the data for this report are obtained from USCIS records and associated data for the immigrant visa packets (upon arrival in the United States), Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and certain records from Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
3. Information collected from these I-94 records includes arrival dates, port of entry, class of admission, country of nationality, state of destination, age, gender, and, in some instances, departure dates.  I-94 data do not describe all nonimmigrant admissions because certain visitors (e.g., most short-term visitors from Mexico and Canada) are not required to fill out the I-94 form.