September 30 2003

The Office of Immigration Statistics of the Department of Homeland Security released the complete 2002 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, the first edition of the Yearbook published under the auspices of the DHS.

The 2002 Yearbook can be accessed online via www.immigration.gov. Overall, legal immigration remained almost constant from the previous year, refugee arrivals dropped dramatically, and the number of deportable aliens located declined significantly. California and New York remain top destinations for immigrants, and half of all nonimmigrants came from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, and Germany. The highlights are listed below:

++ Legal immigration in 2002 (1,063,732) was lower than in 2001 (1,064,318).

++ Thirty-eight percent of all immigrants were born in North America (21 percent in Mexico) and 32 percent were born in Asia.

++ Sixty-five percent of all immigrants intended to reside in six states: California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey.

++ Nearly one of five immigrants intended to reside in New York City or Los Angeles.

++ Refugee arrivals dropped in 2002 by 61 percent to 26,787 from 68,925 in 2001.

++ INS Asylum Officers approved 36 percent of asylum cases adjudicated in 2002.

++ Total nonimmigrant admissions in 2002 (27.9 million) decreased by 15 percent from 2001 (32.8 million). Nearly half were from four countries - the United Kingdom (15.4 percent), Mexico (15.0), Japan (13.1), and Germany (5.0).

++ The largest proportion of H-1B petition workers approved (197,537) was born in India (33 percent); the second largest proportion was born in the People's Republic of China (10 percent).

++ The INS naturalized 573,708 persons in fiscal year 2002; forty-one percent were born in Asian countries, followed by 30 percent from North American countries.

++ California was the intended residence of 26 percent of persons naturalizing, followed by New York with 16 percent.

++ The number of deportable aliens located during 2002 declined 23 percent to 1.1 million.

++ The number of expedited removals declined almost 51 percent; other types of formal removal increased 6 percent.

++ Nearly 71,000 criminal aliens were removed; Mexico lead all countries of nationality with nearly 56,000 (79 percent).