MEMORANDUM September 16, 2014

To: Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Attention:
From: , Analyst in Immigration Policy,
Subject: Components and Characteristics of the U.S. Foreign-born Population - Revised

You requested a memorandum containing the following information on the foreign born population: 1)
the number of refugees and asylees admitted to the United States since 2000; 2) the most current estimate
of the work-authorized resident nonimmigrant population in the United States; 3) the most current
estimate of the total foreign-born population in the United States; 4) projections to the year 2024 of the
total foreign-born population in the United States under two circumstances: no change in current
immigration policy, and the enactment of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and
Immigration Modernization Act passed by the Senate in 2013.
Regarding the 4
th
request above, CRS currently does not possess the capacity to produce detailed
population estimates or projections. This memorandum provides demographic figures that may be helpful
to construct such projections. All data presented in this memorandum come from published sources.
!"#$%""& ()* +&,-""&
Table 1 presents data for refugee arrivals and individuals granted asylum that come from the Department
of Homeland Securitys Yearbook of Immigration Statistics which presents data for each fiscal year from
FY2000 through FY2013. Those figures sum to 1,196,296 refugees and asylees over this 14 year period.
!"#$% '( )%*+,%% -../0"$1 "23 -14$+5 6."27%%18 92/7%3 :7"7%18 ;<=>>>?;<=>'@
;/1A"$ <%". )%*+,%%1 -14$%%1 !B7"$
2000 72,143 32,514 104,657
2001 68,925 39,148 108,073
2002 26,788 36,937 63,725
2003 28,286 28,743 57,029
2004 52,840 27,362 80,202
2005 53,738 25,248 78,986
2006 41,094 26,259 67,353
2007 48,218 25,219 73,437
Congressional Research Service 2

;/1A"$ <%". )%*+,%%1 -14$%%1 !B7"$
2008 60,107 22,973 83,080
2009 74,602 22,225 96,827
2010 73,293 21,084 94,377
2011 56,384 24,873 81,257
2012 58,179 29,484 87,663
2013 77,395 42,235 119,630
!B7"$ CD'8DD= E>E8@>E '8'DF8=DF
:B+.A%G =>'@G Department ot Homelano Securlty, !"#$%&&' &) *++,-$#.,&/ 0.#.,1.,213 4567, Lawtul Permanent Resloents,
Table 7, =>>>?=>'=: Department ot Homelano Securlty, !"#$%&&' &) *++,-$#.,&/ 0.#.,1.,213 4564, Retugees ano Asylees,
Table 13 ano Table 16.
./012($34/056"* !"&5*")3 7/)5885%0()3&
We are unable to compute the size of the total work-authorized resident nonimmigrant population in the
United States for FY2012, the most recent year for which detailed data on the total nonimmigrant
population are available. The Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS)
has estimated the total resident nonimmigrant population broken out by four broad classes of admission:
temporary workers, students, exchange visitors, and diplomats and other representatives (Table 2). It is
important to emphasize that such estimates of the stock of the resident nonimmigrant population differ
from those of the flow of that population that are presented in Appendix 1. The stock represents the
number of persons in this population at any point in time and must be estimated. The flow encompasses
admissions to and departures from the United States.
1

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Temporary Workers 840,000 -- --
Stuoents 720,000 -- --
Lcbange vlsltors 230,000 -- --
Dlplomats ano Otber Representatlves 80,000 -- --
!B7"$ 1,870,000 -- --
:B+.A%G 8ryan 8aker, 81.,+#."1 &) .9" 0,:" #/; <9#$#2."$,1.,21 &) .9" ="1,;"/. >&/,++,-$#/. ?&@AB#.,&/ ,/ .9" C/,."; 0.#."13
D#/A#$E 4564, Department ot Homelano Securlty, Ottlce ot |mmlgratlon Statlstlcs, Populatlon Lstlmates, February 2014.
Estimating the work-authorized resident nonimmigrant population faces several obstacles. Figures for all
four classes presented in Table 2 include an indeterminate number of spouses and children who may not

1
While data on departures of foreign nationals are generally not published and made publically available, admissions of foreign
nationals, including resident nonimmigrants, are tabulated each year by DHS in the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. See
http://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics.
Congressional Research Service 3

be permitted to work depending on the class.
2
For instance, without knowing how many temporary
workers are spouses or children, one cannot compute the number of work-authorized temporary workers.
Students are generally authorized to work on campus, but off-campus work is restricted, with limited
exceptions. Exchange visitors, who often receive a J type visa, may work if their program has a work
component, while spouses may work only as approved by DHS. Diplomats and other representatives and
their spouses and children may work if the employment is within the scope of official duties.
DHS does provide more detailed data categories in annual reports of nonimmigrant admissions that may
be helpful for estimating the total work-authorized resident nonimmigrant population in the United States.
Appendix 1 of this memorandum provides data from the most recent OIS report on nonimmigrant
admissions. However, it should be emphasized that figures in Appendix 1 represent admissions or the
inflow of nonimmigrants, not the stock of nonimmigrants present in the United States.
9$00")3 :56" /# 34" ;/0"5%)2</0) =/>$-(35/)
The most recent estimate for the foreign born population comes from the Census Bureaus 2012 American
Community Survey.
3
The estimate is 40,824,658 with a margin of error of +/- 111,594. This figure
represents 13.0% of the total U.S. population of 313,914,040 in 2012.
4
It also represents a 321% increase
over the 1970 population of 9.7 million foreign born.
5

=0/?"@35)% 34" :56" /# 34" ;/0"5%)2</0) =/>$-(35/) 3/ ABAC
Projecting the foreign-born population ten years into the future to 2024 can be accomplished using a
variety of methodologies that often require assumptions about rates of future growth of both the
authorized and unauthorized populations. Such assumptions are often based on recent past patterns.
Population projections typically take into account rates of fertility, mortality, and emigration among the
foreign born.
6
In the case of the foreign-born in the United States, projections may also account for
immigrant sponsorship by related foreign-born residents who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent
residents (LPRs).
7


2
For more information on U.S. employment policy for nonimmigrants, see CRS Report RL31381, U.S. Immigration Policy on
Temporary Admissions, by Ruth Ellen Wasem.
3
For more information on the ACS, see United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey (website), accessed by CRS
on September 3, 2014, http://www.census.gov/acs/www/.
4
These figures were obtained using the Census Bureaus American FactFinder website at
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
5
All 1970 figures come from U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Statistical Abstract of the United States, Table 46. As a basis for
comparision, over the same period between 1970 and 2012, the native born U.S. population increased from 193,590,856 to
273,089,382, an increase of 41%.
6
For examples using fertility, mortality, and emigration rate assumptions to project the foreign-born population, see David M.
Armstrong and Jennifer M. Ortman, "Projecting the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2012 to 2060," Presented at
the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America,, New Orleans, LA, April 11, 2013; and U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Projections of the United States by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1995 to
2050, Current Population Reports P25-1130, February 1996. For a guide to population projection methodologies, see M.V.
George, Stanley K. Smith, and David A. Swanson, et al., "Population Projections," in The Methods and Materials of
Demography, ed. David A. Swanson and Jacob S. Siegel, 2nd ed. (San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004), pp. 561-602.
7
For more information on immigrant sponsorship of related family members, see CRS Report R43145, U.S. Family-Based
Immigration Policy, by William A. Kandel.
Congressional Research Service 4

Table 3 presents figures for the total foreign-born population in each decennial census year from 1970 to
2010. It shows that between 1970 and 2010, the foreign-born population grew from 9.7 million to 39.9
million individuals. The average growth in each decade was 7.55 million persons, and the average rate of
growth in each decade was 42.8%. These figures represent the total foreign born and do not differentiate
by legal status.
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1970 9,700,000 --- ---
1980 14,100,000 4,400,000 45.4
1990 19,800,000 5,700,000 40.4
2000 31,100,000 11,300,000 57.1
2010 39,900,000 8,800,000 28.3

Average cbange --- 7,550,000 42.8
:B+.A%G CRS Report R41592 (arcblveo), F9" CG0G H&$",-/IJ&$/ ?&@AB#.,&/3 F$"/;1 #/; 0"B"2."; <9#$#2."$,1.,21, by Wllllam A.
Kanoel, Flgure 1.
Table 4 presents the number of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who were admitted each year to the
United States from 2000 to 2012.
8
LPRs include persons applying for LPR status from abroad as well as
legally admitted persons living in the United States who adjust their status from a temporary legal status
to permanent resident.
9

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2000 841,002 --- --- 8,500,000 --- ---
2001 1,058,902 217,900 25.9 9,400,000 900,000 10.6
2002 1,059,356 454 0.0 9,300,000 (100,000) -1.1
2003 703,542 (355,814) -33.6 9,800,000 500,000 5.4
2004 957,883 254,341 36.2 10,300,000 500,000 5.1
2005 1,122,257 164,374 17.2 11,100,000 800,000 7.8

8
A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who is not a U.S. citizen and resides legally and permanently in the United
States.
9
For more on legal permanent admissions, see CRS Report R42866, Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy
Overview, by Ruth Ellen Wasem.
Congressional Research Service 5

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2006 1,266,129 143,872 12.8 11,600,000 500,000 4.5
2007 1,052,415 (213,714) -16.9 12,400,000 800,000 6.9
2008 1,107,126 54,711 5.2 11,900,000 (500,000) -4.0
2009 1,130,818 23,692 2.1 11,100,000 (800,000) -6.7
2010 1,042,625 (88,193) -7.8 11,600,000 500,000 4.5
2011 1,062,040 19,415 1.9 11,500,000 (100,000) -0.9
2012 1,031,631 (30,409) -2.9 11,700,000 200,000 1.7

3-year average 1,045,432 (33,062) -2.9 11,600,000 200,000 1.8
5-year average 1,074,848 (4,157) -0.3 11,560,000 (140,000) -1.1
10-year average 1,047,647 (2,773) 1.4 11,300,000 240,000 2.4
:B+.A%G CRS Report RL33874, C/#A.9&$,:"; KB,"/1 ="1,;,/- ,/ .9" C/,."; 0.#."13 81.,+#."1 0,/2" 6LMN, by Rutb Lllen Wasem,
Flgure 1.
IB7%1G Tbe presentatlon ot 3-year, 5-year, ano 10-year averages are meant to provloe lntormatlon ano are not meant to
lmply or enoorse a partlcular metbooologlcal approacb to estlmatlng tuture populatlons ot unautborlzeo allens.
Table 4 also includes the most widely cited estimates of the annual stock of the unauthorized population
for years 2000 to 2012.
10
Unauthorized aliens can enter the United States either without inspection
(illegal entry), with inspection using fraudulent documents, or with a legal temporary visa for which they
then overstay the authorized temporary residence period.
Estimates do exist of the relationship between authorized entry and unauthorized residence. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) used three distinct methodologies to yield visa overstay
estimates ranging from 31% to 57% of the unauthorized population.
11
The Pew Hispanic Center estimated
in 2006 that 45% of the total unauthorized population initially entered the United States legally.
12

As with all population estimates care must be used in interpreting trends. For instance, the authors of the
Pew Hispanic Centers report presenting the most recent 2012 unauthorized alien population estimate
caution that although there are indications the number of unauthorized immigrants may be rising, the
2012 population estimate is the midpoint of a wide range of possible values and in a statistical sense is no
different from the 2009 estimate.
13


10
See CRS Report RL33874, Unauthorized Aliens Residing in the United States: Estimates Since 1986, by Ruth Ellen Wasem,
Figure 1, for specific citations for individual years.
11
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Overstay Tracking: A Key Component of Homeland Security and a Layered Defense,
GAO-04-82, May 2004. See also CRS Report RS22446, Nonimmigrant Overstays: Brief Synthesis of the Issue, by Ruth Ellen
Wasem.
12
Pew Hispanic Center, Modes of Entry of the Unauthorized Migrant Population, Fact Sheet, May 22, 2006. The 45% figure is
comparable to previous estimates noted within this Pew Fact Sheet.
13
Jeffrey S. Passel, D'Vera Cohn, and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Population Decline of Unauthorized Immigrants Stalls, May Have
(continued...)
Congressional Research Service 6

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examined how S. 744, the Border Security, Economic
Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, passed by the Senate in 2013, might affect the
projected size of the foreign-born population in 10 years. In its assessment of the economic impact of S.
744, the CBO estimated that the U.S. population would be larger by about 10 million people in 2023
than projected under current law and that slightly more than two-thirds of those additional residents
would be adults.
14

You requested an estimate of the U.S. foreign-born population using a simple average of past growth
rates. Applying the average decennial rate of foreign-born population growth over the past four decades
(42.8% from Table 3) to the 2012 foreign-born population (40,824,658) yields an estimate of the foreign-
born population in 2022 of 58,297,612 with an unspecified margin of error. This estimate assumes no
change in current immigration policy.
You also requested an estimate of the U.S. foreign-born population using a simple average of past growth
rates and assuming that S.744 had been enacted. You requested that such an estimate apply the CBO
estimate for the foreign-born population growth over the course of a decade as the result of S.744.
Applying the average growth rate as well as the CBO estimate of the S.744 impact yields a population
estimate of the foreign-born population in 2022 of 68,297,612 with an unspecified margin of error.
15



(...continued)
Reversed, Pew Research Hispanic Trends Project, September 23, 2013, http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/09/23/population-
decline-of-unauthorized-immigrants-stalls-may-have-reversed/.
14
Congressional Budget Office, The Economic Impact of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration
Modernization Act , June 2013, http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44346, page 6.
15
Applying other methods would likely yield different estimates. For example, if one assumed that the most recent decade of
foreign-born population growth between 2000 and 2010 of 23.8% would most accurately represent likely growth for the coming
decade, the two estimates computed would equal 50,540,926 and 60,540,926, respectively.

CRS-7
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;<=>'@ ;<=>'= ;<=>''
!%5PB.".4 SB.H%.1 "23 *"5/$/%1 2,996,743 3,049,419 3,385,775
Temporary workers ano tralnees 1,853,915 1,900,582 2,092,028
CNM|-only transltlonal worker (CW1) 1,642 0.0 0.0 0.0
Workers ln speclalty occupatlons (H18) 474,355 8.6 473,015 8.5 494,565 8.1
Cblle ano Slngapore Free Traoe Agreement (H181) 8 0.0 0.0 30 0.0
Reglstereo nurses partlclpatlng ln tbe Nurslng Rellet tor Dlsaovantageo Areas Act (H1C) 7 0.0 29 0.0 124 0.0
Agrlcultural workers (H2A) 204,577 3.7 183,860 3.3 188,411 3.1
Nonagrlcultural workers ano returnlng H28 workers (H28, H2R) 104,993 1.9 82,921 1.5 79,862 1.3
Tralnees (H3) 4,117 0.1 4,081 0.1 3,279 0.1
Workers wltb etraorolnary ablllty or acblevement ano tbelr asslstants (O1, O2) 87,366 1.6 70,611 1.3 67,724 1.1
|nternatlonally recognlzeo atbletes or entertalners (P1) 85,583 1.5 84,209 1.5 84,545 1.4
Artlsts or entertalners ln reclprocal ecbange or culturally unlque programs (P2, P3) 21,818 0.4 22,116 0.4 22,660 0.4
Workers ln lnternatlonal cultural ecbange programs (Q1) 2,685 0.0 2,494 0.0 2,331 0.0
Workers ln rellglous occupatlons (R1) 14,191 0.3 15,906 0.3 19,683 0.3
Nortb Amerlcan Free Traoe Agreement (NAFTA) protesslonal workers (TN) 612,535 11.1 733,692 13.2 899,455 14.8
Spouses ano cblloren ot temporary workers ano tralnees (CW2, H4, O3, P4, R2, TD) 240,038 4.3 227,637 4.1 229,359 3.8
|ntracompany transterees 723,641 717,893 788,187
|ntracompany transterees (L1) 503,206 9.1 498,899 9.0 562,776 9.3
Spouses ano cblloren ot lntracompany transterees (L2) 220,435 4.0 218,994 4.0 225,411 3.7
Treaty traoers ano lnvestors ano spouses ano cblloren (L1 to L3) 373,360 6.7 386,472 7.0 454,101 7.5
Representatlves ot torelgn meola ano tbelr spouses ano cblloren (|1) 45,827 0.8 44,472 0.8 51,459 0.8
:7+3%271 1,669,225 1,653,576 1,788,962
Acaoemlc stuoents (F1) 1,577,509 28.5 1,566,815 28.3 1,702,730 28.0
vocatlonal stuoents (M1) 19,106 0.3 17,600 0.3 18,824 0.3
Spouses ano cblloren ot acaoemlc ano vocatlonal stuoents (F2, M2) 72,610 1.3 69,161 1.2 67,408 1.1

CRS-8
;<=>'@ ;<=>'= ;<=>''
TUAJ"2,% 0/1/7B.1 492,937 475,232 526,931
Lcbange vlsltors ([1) 433,534 7.8 421,425 7.6 469,993 7.7
Spouses ano cblloren ot ecbange vlsltors ([2) 59,403 1.1 53,807 1.0 56,938 0.9
Y/P$B5"71 "23 B7J%. .%P.%1%27"7/0%1 373,330 365,779 377,830
Ambassaoors, publlc mlnlsters, career olplomats, consular ottlcers, otber torelgn
government ottlclals ano tbelr spouses, cblloren, ano attenoants (A1 to A3)
200,825 3.6 207,349 3.7 215,186 3.5
Representatlves to lnternatlonal organlzatlons ano tbelr spouses, cblloren, ano attenoants
(G1 to G5)
141,744 2.6 135,623 2.4 139,378 2.3
NATO ottlclals ano tbelr tamllles (N1 to N7) 30,761 0.6 22,807 0.4 23,266 0.4
!B7"$ )%1/3%27 IB2/55/,."271 Z8Z@=8=@Z '>>(>[ Z8ZEE8>>F '>>(>[ F8>CD8EDQ '>>(>[
:B+.A%G Katle Foreman ano Ranoall Monger, >&/,++,-$#/. K;+,11,&/1 .& .9" C/,."; 0.#."13 4567, DHS Ottlce ot |mmlgratlon Statlstlcs, Annual Flow Report, [uly 2014
IB7%1G Letters ln parentbeses lnolcate vlsa categorles. For more lntormatlon on vlsa categorles, see CRS Report RL31381, CG0G *++,-$#.,&/ ?&B,2E &/ F"+@&$#$E
K;+,11,&/1, by Rutb Lllen Wasem.
Congressional Research Service 9