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Infographics 2016

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 2016 may be viewed below or downloaded.

The U.S. Immigration System. 2016 Lawful Permanent Residents. A lawful permanent resident (LPR) or "green card" 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 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 2016.Lawful Permanent Residents since 1916. There were 1,183,505 new LPRs in Fiscal Year 2016. About 52% were new arrivals to the United States. The spike in new LPRs from 1989 to 1991 reflects the legalization of 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986.LPRs by Region of Birth & Top Categories of Admission. Asia, 39.1%. North America, 36.1%. Africa 9.6%. Europe, 7.9%; South America, 6.7%. Oceania, 0.5%. LPRs by Category of Admission. Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens, 47.9%; Family-Sponsored preferences, 20.1%; Employment-based preferences, 11.7%; Refugees, 10.2%; Diversity, 4.2%; Asylees, 3.1%; Other, 2.8%. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is available to nationals of countries with historically low rates of immigration. Visas are distributed by lottery and were limited in 2016 to 3,500 per eligible country and to a total of 50,000 visas.United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigraiton Statistics. For additional information, please see the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2016 Lawful Permanent Residents Flow report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System. 2016 Refugees & Asylees. The United States provides refuge to persons who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution through two programs: a refugee program for persons outside the United States and an asylum program for persons in the United States and their immediate relatives. This infographic provides information on persons admitted as refugees or granted asylum in the United States in Fiscal Year 2016.Refugees. 84,989 persons were admitted to the United States as refugees in Fiscal Year 2016. Top 5 countries of nationality. Democratic Republic of Congo, 16,370; Syria, 12,587; Burma, 12,347; Iraq, 9,880; Somalia, 9,020. Asylees. Top 5 countries of nationality. 20,455 individuals were granted asylum in Fiscal Year 2016. Affirmative asylum: El Salvador, 1,404; China, 1,382; Guatemala, 1,317; Honduras, 885; Egypt, 690. Defensive Asylum: China, 3,103; El Salvador, 753; Guatemala, 632; Honduras, 620; Mexico, 464.Top States of Initial Resettlement. In 2016, 34% of admitted refugees were resettled in 5 states: California, 9.3%; Texas, 9.2%; New York, 5.9%; Michigan, 5%, Ohio, 4.9%. Credible Fear. 73% of Credible fear screenings in Fiscal Year 2016 were from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador Guatemala, and Honduras. Ways of obtaining asylum: 1. Affirmatively through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); 2. Defensively before an immigration judge of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) of the Department of Justice: 3. Through derivative asylum status as the spouse or child of an asylee.United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigraiton Statistics. For additional information, please see the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2016 Refugee & Asylee Flow report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System: 2016 Naturalizations. 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. Naturalization numbers presented include form N-400 applicants, ages 18 and up, and do not include persons under the age of 18 who derived citizenship.Naturalizations over time. 87,831 persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 1916. 753, 060 persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 2016. Spike in naturalizations partially as a result of LPRs legalized under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) becoming eligible to naturalize. Asia overtakes Europe as the largest region of origin for naturalizations in the late 1970s.Top 5 countries of birth. Mexico, 13.8%; India, 6.1%; Philippines, 5.5%; China, 4.8%. Cuba 4.3%. 55.5% of persons naturalized in 2016 were female and 44.2% were male. Time to naturalization. Persons naturalizing in Fiscal Year 2016 spend a median of 7 years in LPR status before becoming citizens, unchaged from the previous four years. Median years in LPR status for persons naturalized in Fiscal Year 2016 was: North America, 10 Years; Oceania, 10 Years; Europe, 9 Years; South America, 7 Years; Africa, 6 Years; Asia, 6 Years; Top 5 States of Residence. California, 20.2%; New York, 12.4%; Florida, 11.8%; Texas, 8.5%; New Jersey, 5.4%.United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigraiton Statistics. For additional information, please see the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2016 Naturalizations Flow report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System. 2016 Nonimmigrant Admissions (I-94/I-94W only). 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 (visa waiver) forms in Fiscal Year 2016; these forms are issued to most types of nonimmigrants with the exceptions of Canadian tourists and business travelers and Mexicans with border crossing cards.76,786,751 admissions to the United States were recorded using Form I-94 or I-94W. An I-94/I-94@ is a form documenting the Arrival-Departure Record of particular aliens. Sources of I-94/I-94W admissions: North America, 46.3%; Europe, 23.1%; Asia, 19.1%; South America, 7.9%; Oceania, 2.5%; Africa, 1.1%. 52.4% of all Students & Exchange Visitor admissions were citiens of countries in Asia.I-94/I-94W by class of admission. Temporary visitors for pleasure, 79.2%; Temporary visitors for business, 10.8%; Temporary workers & families, 5.1%; Students & Exchange visitors, 3.4%; Other classes of admission, 1.5%.
Visa waivers (I-94W). 23,132,817 I-94W admissions participated in the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program allows nationals of designated countries to travel to the eUnited States as tourists or business travelers without a visa for a period not to exceed 90 days. Month of arrival. An average of 7,210,428 I-94/I-94W admissions occured in December, July & August. 5,353,405 I-94/I-94W admissions occured in February.
United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigraiton Statistics. For additional information, please see the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2016 Nonimmigrant Admissions Flow report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

The U.S. Immigration System. 2016 Enforcement Actions. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) 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 2016.Alien Apprehensions. 530,250 aliens were apprehended by DHS in Fiscal Year 2016. 415, 816 (78.4%) aliens were apprehended by CBP USBP. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Border Patrol 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. 110,104 (20.8%) aliens were apprehended by ICE ERO. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) serves as the primary enforcement arm within ICE for the identification, apprehension, and removal of certain aliens from the Unites States. 4,330 (0.8%) aliens were apprehended by ICE HSI. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Directorate is responsible for disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal threats facing the United States.Inadmissibility determinations. 274,617 aliens arriving at a port of entry were determined to be inadmissible by CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO). The top three ports of entry recorded 50.9% of all inadmissibility determinations: Laredo, TX, 24.8%; San Diego, CA, 17.5%; El Paso, TX, 8.6%. Alien Removals. 340,056 aliens were removed from the United States. 39.9% or 135,570 of total alien removals were criminal aliens. Alien returns. 106,167 aliens were returned to their home countries without an order of removal. Aliens were returned by the following three DHS components. CBP OFO, 77.9%; CBP USBP, 15.2%; ICE ERO, 6.9%.Aliens determined inadmissible came from the following top five countries of citizenship; Mexico, 26.7%; Cuba, 19.7%; Canada, 8.1%; Philippines, 5.8%; Guatemala, 4.9%. Removed aliens (criminal and non-criminal) came from the following top five countries of citizenship: Mexico, 72.1%; Guatemala, 9.9%; Honduras, 6.4%; El Salvador, 5.9%; Colombia, 0.6%. Returned aliens came from the following top five countries of citizenship: Mexico, 35%; Canada, 17.3%; Philippines, 12.8%; China, 8.1%; India, 2.3%.United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigraiton Statistics. For additional information, please see the 2016 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2016 Enforcement Actions Flow report at www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics.

Last Updated: 01/20/2022
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