Data from Department of Homeland Security has shown that Nigerians received the most US green cards in Africa in 2023.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to US immigration law; a lawful permanent resident or green card holder is a foreign national who has been granted the status of residing permanently in the country.
Foreigners apply for the green card to become US citizens after they meet certain additional eligibility requirements.
The 2023 lawful permanent residents annual flow report released by Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) in September revealed that nearly 1,173,000 persons were granted green cards last year.
The report said majority of the new LPRs (52 percent) were already present in United States when they were granted lawful permanent resident status.
It said, “About 64 percent were granted LPR status based on a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or current LPR.”
Leading countries of new LPRs by birth were Mexico, Cuba, and India.
The report added that 55.7% which is 418,930 of the total new green card holders were Africans.
Out of the 20 countries featured on list of most granted green card permits, Nigeria ranked 15 and was the only African country on the list.
The report showed that California was the most preferred state of residence for immigrants with 205,040 arrivals.
Florida was ranked second while New York, Texas, and New Jersey were third, fourth, and fifth respectively.
Median age for new LPRs was revealed to be 35 years.
The report added, “New LPR’s who were 65 years of age and older increased 62 percent from 2022.”
Females were the most granted green card permit gender, while married applicants received the most green card in terms of marital status.
