Table 4.
Demographic characteristics of immigrants taking different pathways to legalization
| Demographic characteristic | Total respondents (%) | Type of prior U.S. experience |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New arrival* (%) | Illegal border crosser (%) | Visa abuser (%) | Non-resident visitor (%) | Non-resident worker (%) | Student/exchange (%) | Refugee/asylee (%) | ||
| Status at entry | ||||||||
| All new admissions | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Non-quota family | 40.5 | 36.7 | 50.0 | 46.7 | 59.2 | 24.1 | 50.1 | 3.3 |
| Quota family | 29.4 | 46.9 | 39.4 | 25.4 | 17.9 | – | – | 1.1 |
| 1st Preference | 2.3 | 5.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.8 | – | – | – |
| 2nd Preference | 17.3 | 22.8 | 29.4 | 12.0 | 15.6 | – | – | – |
| 3rd Preference | 4.1 | 9.2 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 1.6 | – | – | – |
| 4th Preference | 12.1 | 9.9 | 6.7 | 7.6 | – | – | – | 1.1 |
| Employment | 12.1 | 2.1 | 7.3 | 15.2 | 17.4 | 70.5 | 47.8 | 0.3 |
| Refugee | 12.1 | – | 1.7 | 12 | 2.3 | 2.7 | – | 95.3 |
| Diversity | 6.0 | 14.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.1 | – |
| Prior U.S. experience | ||||||||
| Age at first trip | 33.3 | 35.3 | 28.3 | 33.3 | 33.5 | 31.8 | 27.0 | 40.6 |
| Year of first trip | 91.2 | 96.0 | 87.7 | 86.2 | 88.6 | 89.8 | 89.2 | 93.0 |
| Duration of first trip (years) | 2.5 | 0.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 2.6 |
| Total number of trips | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 |
| Total time in U.S. (years) | 4.1 | 0.1 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 2.6 |
| % Adjusting status | 43.0 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 55.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| % With multiple trips | 21.8 | 2.5 | 40.4 | 35.3 | 35.7 | 34.3 | 39.8 | 1.4 |
| % With U.S. job before U.S. residence papers | 22.7 | 0.0 | 30.0 | 60.6 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 51.6 | 28.8 |
*
Positive prior U.S. experience values are due to post-admission entries and exits and pre-admission waiting periods.