As any immigrant that has had the privilege of becoming a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) can testify, obtaining a “Green Card” (informal name for a Legal Permanence Residence card) is not easy. Legal Permanence Residence grants an immigrant authorization to work legally and live permanently in the U.S., although it certain conditions and limitations, comparing to U.S. citizenship. Becoming a LPR is a difficult and lengthy process, which requires much patience, and the length of waiting time depends on different factors. Throughout history, requirements for becoming a LPR have changed, and some populations have had preferences while others have had to face more hurdles in order to become LPRs, often depending on their regions of origin.

 

The first dashboard below shows the total number of new LPRs between 1820-2015. The longitudinal line graph also includes some important milestones in U.S. history as well as important events relevant to immigration in order to contextualize the different time periods. In this line graph, the viewer may hover over a specific point to view the exact number of individuals that became LPRs during that year. The second portion of this page shows information on LPRs by countries and regions of origin during different time periods.