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Permanent resident

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A permanent resident, or Green Card holder, is anyone who is not a citizen who is legally authorized to "live and work in the United States on a permanent basis," according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Permanent residents receive documentation, commonly referred to as Green Cards, as proof of their status.[1]

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about 1.05 million individuals obtained lawful permanent resident status in 2015.[2]

Overview

Eligibility for becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and its subsequent amendments. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), "[t]he act has been amended many times over the years, but is still the basic body of immigration law."[3]

Most permanent residents obtain their legal status through the following ways:[4][5][6][7]

  • Immediate relation to a U.S. citizen or another permanent resident, including spouses, children, and parents
  • Employment or offer of employment in the United States
  • Refugee or asylee status, one year after admission into the United States
  • Admission to the United States through the Diversity Lottery

Once immigrants receive lawful permanent resident status, they maintain that status indefinitely until they apply for and obtain citizenship, lose their status due to criminal activity, or abandon their status by choice. A permanent resident must carry his or her Green Card at all times, and the card must be renewed every 10 years.[8][9]

According to USCIS, permanent residents are granted the following rights with their status:[9][10]

  • The right to legal employment within the United States
  • Protection under all federal, state, and local laws
  • The right to apply for a Social Security Card
  • The right to apply for a state-issued driver's license

State-level data

The table below provides data on the number of individuals obtaining lawful permanent resident status in each state for each year between 2010 and 2015. More immigrants established permanent residency in California than in any other state during 2015.[2]

Individuals obtaining lawful permanent resident status by state
State 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Alabama 3,740 4,063 3,873 3,848 3,685 3,928
Alaska 1,703 1,799 1,612 1,460 1,505 1,572
Arizona 18,243 20,333 18,434 16,097 16,908 17,997
Arkansas 2,684 2,874 2,795 2,900 2,793 2,814
California 208,446 210,591 196,622 191,806 198,379 209,568
Colorado 12,489 13,547 13,327 11,108 10,872 12,661
Connecticut 12,222 12,577 12,237 10,985 11,252 11,102
Delaware 2,198 2,355 2,208 2,325 2,085 2,168
District of Columbia 2,897 2,724 2,811 2,981 3,169 2,976
Florida 107,276 109,229 103,047 102,939 109,310 118,873
Georgia 24,833 27,015 26,134 24,387 23,792 25,919
Guam 1,383 1,313 1,430 1,210 1,089 1,249
Hawaii 7,037 7,296 6,764 6,226 5,741 6,513
Idaho 2,556 2,602 2,428 2,120 2,202 2,531
Illinois 37,909 38,325 38,373 35,988 36,535 40,482
Indiana 8,539 8,262 8,359 7,668 8,008 8,554
Iowa 4,245 4,624 4,679 4,105 4,225 5,047
Kansas 5,501 5,086 4,980 5,000 4,861 5,419
Kentucky 4,930 5,403 5,243 5,159 5,634 5,647
Louisiana 4,397 4,226 4,454 4,355 4,382 4,696
Maine 1,349 1,467 1,497 1,208 1,382 1,464
Maryland 26,450 25,778 24,971 25,361 24,787 22,627
Massachusetts 31,069 32,236 31,392 29,482 29,776 28,535
Michigan 18,579 18,347 17,494 16,952 18,185 18,049
Minnesota 12,408 12,389 12,999 12,781 13,764 14,737
Mississippi 1,709 1,666 1,583 1,716 1,587 1,587
Missouri 7,151 7,048 6,635 6,345 6,419 6,731
Montana 457 511 503 445 451 519
Nebraska 4,400 4,535 4,384 4,141 4,442 5,234
Nevada 10,803 10,449 10,343 9,886 10,089 11,053
New Hampshire 2,556 2,478 2,466 2,227 2,103 2,159
New Jersey 56,920 55,547 50,790 53,082 51,609 49,801
New Mexico 3,528 3,767 3,714 3,664 3,359 3,626
New York 147,999 148,426 149,505 133,601 141,406 130,010
North Carolina 16,112 17,571 17,487 16,798 17,152 18,495
North Dakota 1,058 948 1,144 1,234 1,351 1,600
Ohio 13,585 13,857 13,948 13,819 14,641 16,050
Oklahoma 4,627 4,503 4,646 4,648 4,441 4,880
Oregon 7,997 7,694 7,791 7,171 7,379 8,655
Pennsylvania 24,130 25,397 25,032 24,720 23,944 24,969
Puerto Rico 4,283 3,288 3,106 2,942 2,709 3,322
Rhode Island 4,027 3,681 3,798 3,337 3,297 3,610
South Carolina 4,401 4,216 3,924 4,266 4,233 4,417
South Dakota 987 1,337 1,521 1,231 1,108 1,265
Tennessee 8,156 8,279 8,573 8,380 8,507 8,833
Texas 87,750 94,481 95,557 92,674 95,295 99,727
Utah 6,085 6,426 5,932 5,503 6,166 6,883
Vermont 867 943 877 838 791 792
Virginia 28,607 27,767 28,227 27,861 28,477 27,622
Washington 22,283 23,789 23,060 22,994 22,710 24,765
West Virginia 729 830 779 760 783 786
Wisconsin 6,189 6,245 6,049 5,918 5,997 6,655
Wyoming 452 420 427 522 414 539
Other territories 1,694 1,480 1,667 1,379 1,336 1,116
Unknown - - - - 1 202
Total 1,042,625 1,062,040 1,031,631 990,553 1,016,518 1,051,031
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)" (Click on "Lawful Permanent Residents 2015 Data Tables" to access the data.)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card," accessed October 4, 2016
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)," accessed December 20, 2016 (Click on "Lawful Permanent Residents 2015 Data Tables" to access the data.)
  3. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Immigration and Nationality Act," accessed December 18, 2016
  4. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card Through Family," accessed December 20, 2016
  5. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card Through a Job," accessed December 20, 2016
  6. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card Through Refugee or Asylee Status," accessed December 20, 2016
  7. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Other Ways to Get a Green Card," accessed December 20, 2016
  8. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Green Card Through a Job," accessed December 20, 2016
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "After a Green Card is Granted," accessed December 20, 2016
  10. ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident)" accessed January 9, 2017
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