The New Majority in Immigration

If you think that the majority of immigrants to the United States come from south of the border, you would be wrong.

A new report from the Pew Research Center offers a fascinating look at the massive Asian populations immigrating to the United States and how they are overwhelming all other immigration numbers.

Below are some interesting facts taken from the report:

• The H1-B visa, which is available to well-educated or very skilled workers and offers one route to permanent residence, is dominated by Indians who were awarded over half of those visas last year.
• Asian immigrants are generally better educated than other immigrants. They are even more educated, on average, than most Americans.
• Asian Americans also earn more than the average American, probably due to the higher instance of education.
• Asian Americans also tend to be happier with the direction in which their lives are going as well as the general well-being of the United States.

United States immigration policy puts a heavy emphasis on retaining a cohesive family unit. An immigrant may have to wait years to be granted a green card for a job, but if they are an immediate family member of a citizen they will only have to wait for the paperwork to go through.

Asian Americans also believe deeply in family values, even more so than other Americans, as is illustrated in the Pew report. Asian Americans indicated that being a good parent and having a good marriage is very important to them more often than average Americans.