people from China make up one of the largest immigrant groups in the United States while the number of Chinese immigrants in the United States peaked at almost 2.5 million in 2019 it fell to under 2.4 million in 2022 breaking a long period of growth this decline was due in part to restrictions placed by the Trump Administration on migration from China with tighter visa rules for international students and foreign workers throughout 2020 Chinese immigration to the United States has a long and at
times fraught history the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress in response to anti-chinese sentiment and organized labor lobbying and brought the arrival of Chinese workers to a near tootal halt immigration controls imposed by the Chinese government after World War II and the Chinese Communist Revolution limited Mobility as well in contrast the 1965 removal of barriers for non-european immigrants to the United States was a GameChanger for increasing immigration as were relaxed immig
ration controls by China in 1978 and improved us China relations the number of Chinese immigrants residing in the United States nearly doubled from 1980 to 1990 and again by 2000 since then the population has continued growing but at a slower Pace despite the recent declines Chinese immigrants still represent the third largest origin group Among Us immigrants after those from Mexico and India accounting for 5% of the 45.3 million immigrants in the United States as of 2021 the Hong Kong born popu
lation in the United States is far smaller than that from mainland China there were 880,000 Hong Kong born immigrants in the United States in 1980 a number that more than doubled to about 204,000 in 2000 and then increased further to 248,000 by 2021 today Hong Kong born immigrants make up about 10 % of the 2.4 million Chinese immigrants in the United States China is the main source of foreign students enrolled in US higher education and its Nationals received the second largest number of employe
r sponsored H1B temporary visas in fiscal year 2021 after Indians Chinese Nationals also received 54% of the 2,900 immigrant investor visas issued in 2021 the United States is the top destination for Chinese immigrants worldwide a accounting for about 28% of the 88.6 million Chinese living outside China Hong Kong or maau according to Mid 2020 estimates by the United Nations population division other popular destinations include Canada 930,000 South Korea 83,000 Japan 776 th000 Australia 764 th00
0 and Singapore 54,000 compared to the overall foreign and native born populations in the United United States Chinese immigrants tend to be significantly better educated and are more likely to be employed in management positions they are also more likely to obtain lawful permanent residents also known as getting a green card through their work that are less likely to be proficient in English income and poverty among Chinese migrants data from the migration policy Institute paints a seemingly co
ntradictory picture in 2021 Chinese immigrants posted a median household income of $78,000 exceeding both the foreign born population $70,000 and native born households $67,500 however the poverty rate within the Chinese immigrant Community also shows a surprising Trend in 2021 15% of Chinese immigrants lived in poverty slightly higher than the overall immigrant population 14% And the native born population 11% many Chinese immigrants come with Advanced degrees and specialized skills making them
competitive in high-paying professions like science technology engineering and business MPI data reveals that 60% of Chinese immigrants are employed in these occupations compared to 37% for the overall foreign born population distribution by state and key cities roughly half of Chinese immigrants reside in just two states California 32% and New York 19% the top four counties by concentration in the 2017 to 21 period were Los Angeles county in California Queens County in New York Kings County in
New York and Santa Clara county in California together these four counties accounted for 26% of the overall Chinese born population in the United States as of 2017 to 21 the greater New York City San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas had the largest number of Chinese immigrants these three Metro areas were home to 43% of Chinese immigrants the largest concentration of Chinese immigrants in the United States lives in the New York Newark Jersey City metropolitan area with an estimated
population of 498,000 Chinese immigrants this represents 2.5% of the total metro area population California has three Metro areas ranking high in Chinese immigrant population the San Francisco Oakland Berkeley metro area has 271,000 Chinese immigrants which is 5.7% of the total metro area population the Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim metro area has 270,000 Chinese immigrants which is 2.0% of the total metro area population the San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara Metro area has a Chinese immigrant pop
ulation of 188,000 which is 5.5% of the total metro area population several other major metropolitan areas in the United States have significant populations of Chinese immigrants the Boston Cambridge Newton metro area has an estimated Chinese immigrant population of 102,000 which is 2.1% of the total metro area population the Seattle Tacoma Belleview metro area has 78,000 Chinese immigrants which is 2.0% of the total metro area population unauthorized immigrant population although most Chinese i
mmigrants in the United States are legally present approximately 390,000 were unauthorized as of 2019 according to migration policy Institute estimates comprising around 4% of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States as of September 30th 2022 640 immigrants from China or Hong Kong participated in the deferred action for childhood arrivals program a accounting for a tiny share of the total 58960 recipients DCA provides temporary deportation relief and work authorization to unau
thorized migrants who arrived as children and meet the program's education and other eligibility criteria immigration Pathways and Naturalization in 2021 56% of Chinese immigrants in the United States were naturalized US citizens compared to 53% of all immigrants compared to the foreign born overall Chinese immigrants are more likely to have arrived in the United States recently 35% came in 2010 or later in 2021 China was the third largest country of origin for new lawful permanent residents als
o known as green card holders after Mexico and India approximately 51,000 of the Nearly 74,000 New were from mainland China Hong Kong or maau compared to all new green card holders Chinese immigrants were much more likely to obtain the status via employment-based preferences in contrast Chinese immigrants were less likely to obtain green cards as immediate relatives of US citizens 33% compared to 52% for all immigrants there are significant backlogs for Mainland Chinese applying for LPR status t
hrough employment-based and family sponsored channels due to annual per country caps in December 2022 Chinese applicants being processed for some types of family sponsored green cards had been waiting since March 2007 while those being processed for some employment related Applications had been in the queue since June 2013 Chinese immigrants median age is the same as that of the overall foreign born population 47 years and higher than that of the us-born 37 years in 2021 Chinese immigrants were
slightly less likely than the overall foreign born population to be of working age 18 to 64 but more likely than the native born population Chinese immigrants tend to have considerably higher levels of Education than the overall foreign and us-born populations in 2021 52% of Chinese immigrants ages 25 and over had at least a bachelor's degree significantly higher than for immigrants overall and us-born adults 34% and 35% respectively notably Chinese immigrants were more than twice as likely to h
ave a graduate or professional degree 30% compared to 15% for all immigrants and 14% for the us-born the share of Chinese immigrants with a college degree is even higher among those who arrived between 2017 and 2021 China Remains the leading sending country of international students in the United States in school year 2021 to 22 close to 29 6,000 students from China were enrolled in US higher education institutions according to the Institute of International Education accounting for 31% of the 9
49 th000 International students in the United States and 30% of those enrolled in science technology engineering and math or health Fields Chinese immigrants participate in the labor force at a lower rate than other groups in 2021 61% of Chinese immigrants ages 16 and older were in the civilian labor force compared to 66% of all immigrants and 62% of the native born population 60% of Chinese immigrants were employed in management business Science and Arts occupations a much higher share than amo
ng the overall foreign born population and the native born population for
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