U.S. Legal Immigration Down 10.4% in FY1995

U.S. Legal Immigration Down 10.4% in FY 1995

Washington, D.C. - INS Commissioner Doris Meissner announced today that legal immigration to the United States fell 10.4 percent in Fiscal Year (FY 1995 to 720,461, the second consecutive year of decline and the largest two-year decrease in legal immigration since the early 1930s.*

The 1995 decline, coupled with Fiscal Year 1994’s drop of 9.3 percent to 804,416, brings overall legal immigration levels 20.3 percent lower than the 904,292 admitted in FY 1993.

These facts show that the nation’s immigration policies are changing to meet the realities of the 1990s. They confirm this administration’s belief that we can reduce overall immigration levels without sacrificing our tradition of uniting families, meeting employers’ legitimate needs and supporting American workers.” Commissioner Meissner said.

The 10.4 percent decline in FY 1995 was attributed to three main factors:

A lack of demand for employment-based immigrant visas, The completion of special immigrant programs established in 1990, and,

A decline in the number of spouse and parent immigrants

The statistics indicate that fewer newcomers are settling in traditional areas of high immigrant concentration. The number of immigrants settling in California, New York, Texas and Illinois declined in FY 1995. States showing significant immigrant growth included Virginia, Florida, Michigan and Georgia.

*This comparison excludes immigrants admitted from Fiscal Year 1989 to 1995 who were beneficiaries of the one-time Legalization Program under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

FACT SHEET

Legal Immigration in Fiscal Year 1995

The number of legal immigrants admitted to the United States decline in FY 95 for the second consecutive year, falling 10.4% from 804,416 immigrants admitted in FY 94 to 720,461 in FY 95. The new overall level of legal immigration is 20.3% lower than the 904,292 admitted in FY 93. The two-year drop between FY 03 and FY 95 is the largest decline in immigration since the early 1930s.*

The decline in legal immigration occurred for three primary reasons:

Demand for employment-based visas continues well below the 140,000 annual limit.

Employment-based visas remained under-utilized for the third consecutive year. The total number of employment-based immigrants reached only 85,336 in FY 95, a 31% decrease from the previous year. A large share of this decline resulted from the near completion of the Chinese Student Protection Act: 4,213 entered through this category in FY 95 compared to 21,297 in FY 94.

These employment-based figures include nearly 8,000 unskilled workers and their families. Professionals with special skills, investors and special immigrants (including clergy) admitted along with their families members comprised only 77,452. Among skilled immigrants, priority workers declined by 17.6% and professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability by 27.4%.

As a result of these declines, the annual number of employment-based immigrants admitted is now much closer to the 54,000 annual limit established in law before the Immigration Act of 1990 than to the 140,000 annual limit set in current law.

End of Special Programs Under the Immigration of Act of 1990

FY 95 was the last year for admission of up to 55,000 dependents of aliens legalized under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. In FY 95, only 277 dependents entered through this provision compared with 34,074 admitted in FY 94. Spouses and children of legalized aliens are still eligible to enter under the current second preference (spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents) or if their sponsor becomes a naturalized citizen. The number of refugees adjusting to immigrant status also declined in FY 95 by 7.5% to 106,827.

Decline of Admission of Spouses and Parents of U.S. Citizens

The number of spouses of U.S. citizens admitted decreased by 15% between FY 94 and FY 95 to 123,238, the lowest number admitted since 1984. Following two decades of increases, the number of parents of U.S. citizens admitted also declined for the third consecutive year. Compared to a high of 64,764 in FY 92, the number of parents admitted declined by 25% to 48,382 in FY 95.

Some of this decline in the number of spouses and parents of U.S. citizens admitted resulted from the implementation of Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which Congress added at the end of FY 94. The amendment allows aliens who are in the United States without authorization but who are eligible to acquire immigrant status to pay a penalty and to apply directly to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) rather than return to their country of origin to apply through the Department of State. FY 95 was the transition year for this new provision and some immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who were processed and approved in FY 95 will not be formally admitted until FY 96.

In contrast to the overall decline, the number of family-sponsored preference immigrants admitted in FY 95 increased by 12% over FY 94 to reach 238,122. The increase resulted from a statutory shift in the annual limits on family-sponsored visas from 226,000 to 253,721 between FY 94 and FY 95. More than 60% of these immigrants were admitted under the second preference category as spouses and children of legal permanent resident, a 26% increase from the year before.

Selected Characteristics of Legal Immigration

Geographical Concentration

The geographical concentration of legal immigrants continued to disperse in FY 95. The number of legal immigrants intending to settle in California, for example, decreased by 20.2% between FY 94 and FY 95. This decline represented a shift in California’s share of total legal immigration admissions from 28.8% admitted in FY 93 to 23.1% admitted in FY 95. The number of legal immigrants moving to New York declined by 11%, to Texas by 11%, and to Illinois by 20.1%. Significant growth rates occurred in Georgia (23.4%), Michigan (11.1%), Florida (6.8%), and Virginia (6.4%).

The number of legal immigrants settling in the largest cities also declined in FY 95. New York City remained the most popular destination, but the number of legal immigrants moving there declined by 10.2% compared to FY 94. Los Angles and Chicago each experienced annual declines of more than 20%. The metropolitan area with the largest rate of growth was Atlanta (21.3%).

Occupation Among Employment-Based Immigrants

Of the 85,336 immigrants admitted legally with an employment-based visa, only 36,982 (43%) were principal workers. The rest were family members of those workers. Executives and managers were the single largest group among first preference employment-based immigrants, engineers among second preference, and health workers in third preference. Within each category, a much larger number of immigrants with these occupations entered the United States in FY 95 as family-based immigrants than through the employment-based preferences.

[Editor’s Note: A report on “Immigration to the United in Fiscal Year 1995” is available as Reprint No: 45-0596.]

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