A family in New Jersey celebrates the Hindu festival of Janmashtami. Immigration to the United States from India started in the early 19th century when Indian immigrants began settling in communities along the West Coast. Although they originally arrived in small s, new opportunities arose in middle of the 20th century, and the population grew larger in following decades.
English proficiency of indian population in the u.s.,
As ofabout 2. Today, Indian immigrants for approximately 6 percent of the U. The first wave of Indian immigrants found work mainly in the agriculture, lumber, and railroad industries.
Although their presence remained relatively small through the early the 20th century, they and other non-European migrants were the target of a series of laws in, andwhich, among other exclusionary measures, eventually banned Indian immigrants altogether. While the Luce-Celler Act of established a yearly quota of Indian immigrants, it was the Immigration and Nationality Act that removed national-origin quotas altogether, paving the way for non-European arrivals.
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Educational exchange programs, new temporary visas for highly skilled workers, and expanded employment-based immigration Indians in usa opened pathways for highly skilled and educated Indian immigrants, many of whom brought family. From tothe Indian immigrant population in the United States increased fold see Figure 1. Figure 1. Indian Immigrant Population in the United States, Sources: Data from U. Other top destinations include Saudi Arabia 2. Indian immigrants are notable not only for their large s. Compared with both the overall U. They also have lower poverty rates and are less likely to be uninsured.
Today, most Indians in the United States who obtain lawful permanent residence LPR status, also known as getting a green card do so through family reunification channels, either as immediate relatives of U. Using data from the U. The U. Census Bureau defines the " foreign born " as individuals who had no U. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants including those on student, work, or other temporary visasand persons residing in the country without authorization.
The terms " foreign Indians in usa " and " immigrant " are used interchangeably and refer to those who were born in another country and later emigrated to the United States. Distribution by State and Key Cities. In the period, immigrants from India were highly concentrated in California 20 percentfollowed by Texas and New Jersey each with 10 percent. The next three most populous states—New York, Illinois, and Georgia—were home to an additional 17 percent of the Indian population collectively.
Together four these counties were home to 15 percent of Indian immigrants in the United States. Figure 2.
Indian population in the u.s.,
Note: Pooled ACS data were used to get statistically valid estimates at the state level for smaller-population geographies. Not shown are the populations in Alaska and Hawaii, which are small in size; for details, visit the Migration Policy Institute MPI Data Hub for an interactive map showing geographic distribution of immigrants by state and county, available online.
Source : MPI tabulation of data from U. Census Bureau pooled ACS. for an interactive map that highlights the states and counties with the highest concentrations of immigrants from India and other countries. As ofthe U. These four metro areas ed for about 30 percent of Indians in the United States. Figure 3. Note: Pooled ACS data Indians in usa used to get statistically valid estimates at the metropolitan statistical-area level for smaller-population geographies.
Source: MPI tabulation of data from U. for Indians in usa interactive map that highlights the metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of immigrants from India and other countries.
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Table 1. Source: MPI tabulation of data from the U. Indian immigrants are much more likely to be proficient in English than the overall foreign-born population. Inabout 22 percent of Indians ages 5 and over reported limited English proficiency, compared to 46 percent of all immigrants. Approximately 12 percent of Indians spoke only English at home, versus 16 percent of the foreign born.
According to the most recently available data on languages, besides English, immigrants from India spoke a variety of other languages at home inincluding Hindi 26 percentTelugu 13 percentGujarati 11 percentTamil 9 percentand Punjabi 8 percent. Age, Education, and Employment. InIndians were younger than the overall foreign-born population but older than the U. The Indian median age was 40 years, compared to 46 years for all immigrants and 37 years for the native born. This is largely due to the Indians in usa of working-age Indians: 81 percent of all Indian immigrants were in the to range, versus 78 percent of the overall foreign-born population and 59 Indians in usa of the native-born population.
Meanwhile, Indians were less likely than both the native- and foreign-born populations to be 65 or older. Census Bureau ACS. Indians have much higher education rates than both the U. Indians participate in the labor force at a slightly higher rate than all immigrants and the U. About 72 percent of Indian immigrants ages 16 and older were in the civilian labor force incompared to 67 percent of the foreign born and 62 percent of the native born.
Indians were much more likely to be employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations than the overall U. Figure 5. Indians overall have much higher incomes than the total foreign- and native-born populations. InIndian immigrants were less likely to Indians in usa in poverty 5 percent than immigrants overall 14 percent or the U. Immigration Pathways and Naturalization. Indians are less likely to be naturalized U. In47 percent of Indians were naturalized citizens, compared to 52 percent of all immigrants. Compared to all immigrants, Indians are much less likely to have arrived before The largest share of Indians, approximately 41 percent, arrived in or later, as compared to just 25 percent of the overall foreign-born population see Figure 6.
Figure 6. Source : MPI tabulation of data from the U. In fiscal year FYIndia was the fourth-largest country of origin for new permanent residents after Mexico, Cuba, and mainland Indians in usa.
Close to 60, of the 1. Most Indians who obtain green cards do so through family reunification channels. In FY59 percent of the 59, Indians who received a green card did so as either immediate relatives or other family members of U.
Figure 7. N otes: Family-sponsored : Includes adult children Indians in usa siblings of U. Immediate relatives of U. Diversity Visa lottery : The Immigration Act of established the Diversity Visa lottery program to allow entry to immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The law states that 55, diversity visas in total are made available each fiscal year. Individuals born in India are not eligible for the lottery. Although the vast majority of Indian immigrants in the United States are legally present, approximatelywere unauthorized in the period, according to Migration Policy Institute MPI estimates, comprising approximately 3 percent of the However, as of Marchonly 2, Indian-born individuals were among theactive participants, according to U.
Indians have high health insurance coverage Indians in usa compared to both the overall immigrant and native-born populations.
Injust 5 percent of immigrants from India were uninsured, compared to 8 percent of the native born and 20 percent of the total foreign born. Indian immigrants were also more likely to be covered by private health insurance than the overall foreign- and U. Figure 8.
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Note: The sum of shares by type of insurance is likely to be greater than because people may have more than one type of insurance. The Indian diaspora in the United States is comprised of approximately 4. Figure 9.
Annual Remittance Flows to India, to Note : The figure represents World Bank estimates. Garlough, Christine Lynn. Indian Americans.