Table 1.
Distribution of 1996 cohort of legal immigrants by prior US experience and legalization types
| Prior U.S. Experience type | Total (%) | Type of eventual legalization |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family-based (non-quota) (%) | Family-based (quota) (%) | Employment-Based (%) | Refugee (%) | Diversity (%) | ||
| New arrival | 33.8 | 30.6 | 53.9 | 6.0 | – | 80.8 |
| Illegal border crosser | 20.7 | 25.5 | 27.7 | 12.5 | 2.9 | 5.8 |
| Visa abuser | 10.6 | 12.2 | 9.0 | 13.3 | 10.5 | 1.9 |
| Business/professional | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | – | – |
| Student/exchange | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Transit | 0.1 | – | 0.4 | – | – | |
| Temporary worker | 0.3 | 0.6 | – | 0.8 | – | – |
| Tourist | 5.5 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 1.9 |
| Border crosser | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.6 | – | – | – |
| Non-resident visitor | 14.7 | 21.5 | 9.0 | 21.2 | 2.9 | 7.7 |
| Business/professional | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 5.4 | – | – |
| Diplomat | 0.1 | – | – | 1.1 | – | – |
| Transit | 0.1 | 0.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Temporary worker | 0.9 | 0.8 | – | 4.6 | – | – |
| Tourist | 11.9 | 19.0 | 7.4 | 10.1 | 2.9 | 7.7 |
| Border crosser | 0.3 | – | 1.2 | – | – | – |
| Other | 0.2 | 0.6 | – | – | – | – |
| Non-resident worker | 4.3 | 2.5 | – | 25.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Business/professional | 1.7 | 1.1 | – | 10.3 | – | – |
| Diplomat | 0.1 | – | – | 1.1 | – | – |
| Temporary worker | 2.4 | 1.4 | – | 13.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Student/exchange | 5.5 | 6.8 | – | 21.7 | – | 1.9 |
| Rufugee/asylee | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 82.9 | – |
| Weighted N | 64,596 | 26,175 | 18,983 | 7,796 | 7,786 | 3,856 |
| Sample N | 1,134 | 353 | 256 | 368 | 105 | 52 |