As is well known, the United States is a traditional nation of immigrants. According to the 2005 World Population Policies report released by the United Nations, the total immigrant population in the United States was 38,355,000, accounting for 20.56% of the world's total immigrant population of 186,579,300, making it the only country with a share exceeding 10%. The latest report, "Changing Patterns of Global Migration and Remittances," released by the U.S. think tank Pew Research Center on December 17, 2013, shows that from 1990 to 2013, the number of immigrants living in the United States doubled over 20 years to 46 million, far ahead of other countries; for example, Russia, which ranks second, currently has an immigrant population of approximately 11 million.
Among developed nations, the United States is the only major world economy whose population is still growing, and even growing relatively rapidly. In addition to a healthy fertility rate, the continuously increasing number of immigrants has also played a significant role. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the net number of immigrants reached 1.2 million between 2000 and 2001, and the annual net number of immigrants remained at around 900,000 between 2000 and 2005. During the economic crisis from 2008 to 2009, this figure dropped to 725,000. By mid-2009, as the United States gradually emerged from the economic crisis, the number of immigrants began to rise again. On average, since 2001, there has been a net immigration of approximately 884,000 foreigners to the United States each year. The Census Bureau describes it this way: "A new baby is born in the United States every 8 seconds, and a new immigrant steps onto U.S. soil every 26 seconds." This does not include immigrants who entered the United States illegally.
The polling organization Gallup has been surveying global migration trends since 2007, and the United States has consistently been the country people most want to move to. Data shows that more than 640 million people worldwide intend to migrate, accounting for approximately 13% of the world's adult population. Among these, about 150 million people expressed a desire to immigrate to the United States. From July 2012 to July 2013, the net number of people who immigrated to the United States from overseas was approximately 843,000.
The United States is also the preferred destination for Chinese overseas immigrants. There are 22 million people in China who want to immigrate to the United States, topping the list of those pursuing the "American Dream".
U.S. Green Cards are highly sought after. However, in order to attract outstanding talent from around the world to serve the United States, the U.S. has introduced a series of preferential policies for "high-tech talent" immigration, opening the door for such individuals and giving U.S. immigration a distinct characteristic of talent-based migration. Taking China as an example, in 2010, 45.4% of Chinese Americans over the age of 25 held a bachelor's degree, and 26.1% held a master's degree or higher. Their professional status is also high: 35.9% work in engineering; 17.9% work in fields related to computers, mathematics, and statistics; 16% work in fields related to biology, agriculture, and environmental science; 16.3% work in physics and related sciences; and 10% work in social sciences.
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, in 2011, there were 2.231 million Chinese immigrants living in the United States (including those born in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), accounting for 5.5% of the total immigrant population, making them the largest Asian group in the United States. China has become the second-largest source of overseas immigrants to the United States, second only to Mexico. According to the "Annual Report on Chinese International Migration (2014)" released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in 2012, 81,784 Chinese citizens from mainland China obtained U.S. permanent residence visas, accounting for 7.9% of the total number of U.S. permanent residence visas issued.
Among them, investment immigration "Green Cards" accounted for 80.1% of the total conditional investment immigration "Green Cards" issued by the U.S. that year. With the increase in investment immigration applications, the U.S. Department of State has issued a warning that Chinese investment immigration applicants will face the issue of immigration visa backlogs in the second half of 2014.
