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Infographics 2015

This gallery contains infographics produced by the Office of Immigration Statistics to make data provided by Department of Homeland Security components more readily available to the public. Infographics describe key immigration topics such as the number and characteristics of lawful permanent residents, refugees and  asylees, naturalizations, nonimmigrant admissions, and immigration enforcement actions. Infographics for 2015 may be viewed below or downloaded.

The U.S. Immigration System by the numbers. 2015 Immigration Benefits Infographic.

The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) reports on several main types of immigration benefits for foreign-born persons: lawful permanent residence (LPR), refugee arrivals, grants of asylum, naturalizations, and temporary admissions of nonimmigrants. This graphics provides information for these categories for Fiscal Year 2015.

1,051,031 individuals were granted lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in 2015. 45.1% of those were women, 36.3% were men, and 18.6% were children. LPR grantees represented over 70 countries, including: 15.1% from Mexico, 7.1% from China, 6.1% from India, 5.4% from The Philippines, and 5.2% from Cuba. Reasons for LPR status included: 44.2% for Immediate Relatives of US Citizens, 20.4% for Family Preferences, 13.7% for Employment, 11.3% for Refugees, 4.6% for Diversity, and 3.2% for Asylees.

730,259 individuals became naturalized United States citizens in 2015. Regions of birth included: 35.8% from Asia, 33.9% from North America, 10.7% from Europe, 9.8% from Africa, and 9.3% from South America. 69,920 individuals were admitted as refugees. Top countries of nationality included: Burma at 26.3%, Iraq at 18.1%, and Somalia at 12.7%. 26,124 individuals were granted asylum. Top countries of nationality included: China at 23.7%, El Salvador at 8.3%, and Guatemala at 8%.

Of all nonimmigrant admissions (I-94 arrivals), 79.6% were Temporary Visitors for Pleasure, 10.4% were Temporary Visitors for Business, 4.9% were Temporary Workers and Families, 3.5% were Students and Exchange Visitors, and 1.6% were Other categories.

For more information, please see the 2015 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System by the numbers. 2015 Lawful Permanent Residents Infographic.

A lawful permanent resident (LPR) or "green card" recipient is defined by immigration law as a person who has been granted lawful permanent residence in the United States. Lawful Permanent Residents may live and work permanently anywhere in the United States; own property; attend public schools, colleges, and universities; join the U.S. Armed Forces; and apply to become a U.S. citizen after meeting certain eligibility requirements. This graphic provides information on those who received LPR status in Fiscal year 2015.

There were 1,051,031 new lawful permanent residents in Fiscal Year 2015. LPR's have increased steadily over time, with the largest number of LPRs in the late 1980s.

Immediate Relatives of U.S. citizens account for 44.3% of LPRs in 2015. 20.4% were Family Sponsored Preferences; 13.7% were Employment-Based Preferences; 11.3% were Refugees; 4.6% were Diversity; 3.2% were Asylees; and 2.7% were other categories. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is available to nationals of countries with historically low rates of immigration. Visas are distributed by lottery. To enter the diversity visa lottery, an individual (or their spouse or parent) must have been born in an eligible country and must have a high school degree or its equivalent or a certain level of work experience. Winners must clear criminal and security background checks before receiving a visa. Diversity visas are limited to 50,000 per year, and the per-country limit was 3,500 in 2015.

Asia accoUnited for 38.6% percent of LPRs by Region of Last Residence in 2015. North America was 35.1%; Africa was 9.4%; Europe was 8.6%; South America was 6.7%; and Oceania was 0.6%. Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens was the leading category of admission in all regions.

For more information, please see the 2015 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2015 Lawful Permanent Residents Flow Report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System by the numbers. 2015 Naturalizations infographic.

The naturalization process confers U.S. citizenship upon foreign citizens or nationals who have fulfilled the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). After naturalization, foreign-born citizens enjoy nearly all of the same benefits, rights, and responsibilities that the Constitution gives to native-born U.S. citizens, including the right to vote. This graphic provides information for persons who naturalized in Fiscal Year 2015.

730,259 persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 2015 compared to 39,448 naturalized in Fiscal Year 1910. Europe was replaced by Asia in the late 1970's as the largest region of origin for naturalizations. The Increase in naturalizations in the 1990's were partially as a result of the 1986 Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA). 44.1% of persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 2015 were male and 55.9% were female.

Persons naturalizing in Fiscal Year 2015 spent a median of 7 years in lawful permanent resident (LPR) status before becoming citizens, unchanged from the previous two years. Median years in LPR status for persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 2015 by region of birth was: North America, 10 years; Oceania, 9 years; Europe, 9 years; South America, 7 years; Africa and Asia, 6 years.

The top five countries of birth are: Mexico at 14.5%, India at 5.8%, Philippines at 5.6%, China at 4.3%, and Dominican Republic at 3.7%. The top five states of residence are: California at 21.4%, New York at 12.4%, Florida at 11.2%, Texas at 9%, and New Jersey at 4.8%.

For more information, please see the 2015 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2015 Naturalizations Flow Report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System by the numbers. 2015 I-94 Nonimmigrant Admissions infographic.

Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary admission to the United States. Some examples of nonimmigrant admission categories are tourists and business travelers, students, temporary workers, and diplomatic and international organization staff. This graphic provides data for nonimmigrants who received I-94 and I-94W forms in Fiscal Year 2014; these forms are issued to most types of nonimmigrants with the important exceptions of Canadian tourists and business travelers and Mexicans with border crossing cards.

76,638,236 individuals were admitted to the United States using Form I-94 or I-94W. An I-94/I-94W is a form denoting the Arrival-Departure Record of particular aliens.

I-94/I-94W admissions by class of admissions. Temporary visitors for pleasure, 79.6%. Temporary visitors for business, 10.5%. Temporary workers & families, 4.9%. Students and exchange visitors 3.5%, Others, 1.6%.

22,419,941 or 29.3% I-94W admissions participated in the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program allows nationals of designated countries to travel to the United States as tourists or business travelers without a visa for a period not to exceed 90 days. An average of 7,514,415 I-94/I-94W admissions entered the United States in July and August 2015. 5,081,485 I-94/I-94W admissions entered the United Stated in February.

I-94/I-94W admissions came from the following regions: North America, 47.4%; Europe, 22.6%; Asia, 18.3%; South America, 8.2%; Oceania, 2.4%; Africa, 1%. 52.2% of temporary workers and families were citizens of countries in North America. 50.1% of all students and exchange visitors were citizens of countries in Asia.

For more information, please see the 2015 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2015 Nonimmigrant Admissions Flow Report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System by the numbers. 2015 Immigration Enforcement Actions Infographic.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics reports on several immigration enforcement actions including apprehensions, arrests, determinations of inadmissibility, removals, and returns of unauthorized immigrants. This graphic provides information for these categories for Fiscal Year 2015.

462,388 aliens were apprehended by DHS in Fiscal Year 2015. 72.9% percent of that were apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Border Patrol (USBP). CBP USBP is responsible for securing approximately 7,000 miles of international land border with Canada and Mexico and 2,600 miles of coastal border of the United States. 25.5% percent of the total 462,338 aliens were apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). ICE ERO serves as the primary enforcement arm within ICE for the identification, apprehension, and removal of certain aliens from the United States. 1.6% of aliens were apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Directorate. ICE HSI is responsible for disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal threats facing the United States.

253,509 aliens arriving at a port of entry were determined to be inadmissible by CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO). 333,341 aliens were removed from the United States. 129,122 aliens were returned to their home countries without an order of removal.

Inadmissible aliens were processed at the following port of entry types: 55.1% by Land, 25.7% by Air, and 19.2% by Sea. Criminal aliens made up 42% of total alien removals and were convicted of the following top crimes: 33.1% are Immigration, 17.3% are Dangerous Drugs, and 13.3% are Criminal Traffic Offenses. Aliens were returned by the following three DHS components: 81.4% by CBP OFO, 12.6% by CBP USBP, and 6.1% by ICE ERO.

Aliens determined inadmissible came from the following top 5 countries of citizenship: 29.2% from Mexico, 17% from Cuba, 10.4% from Canada, 8.9% from The Philippines, and 6% from China. Removed aliens (criminal and non-criminal) came from the following top five countries of citizenship: 72.7% from Mexico, 10% from Guatemala, 6.4% from El Salvador, 6.1% from Honduras, and 0.6% from Dominican Republic. Returned aliens came from the following top five countries of citizenship: 31.3% from Mexico, 17.5% from Canada, 15.8% from The Philippines, 9.9% from China, and 2.1% from Ukraine.

For more information, please see the 2015 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

 

Last Updated: 12/21/2021
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