In 2009, a total of 1,130,818 people were granted permanent residency in the United States. According to the most recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security report released this month, most of these individuals were already living in the country when they were granted permanent residency. Nearly two-thirds of the applicants obtained permanent resident status through a family member who was a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
14.6% of new residents are born in Mexico. This is followed by 6% from China, 5% from the Philippines and 5% from India. Of the other Latin American countries: 4.4% from the Dominican Republic, 3.4% from Cuba, 2.5% from Colombia, 1.8% from El Salvador and 1.5% from Peru.
Most of these new residents live in California (20.2%), New York (13.3.%), Florida (11.2%), Texas (8.4%), New Jersey (5.2%), Illinois (3.7%), Massachusetts (2.9%), Virginia (2.6%), Georgia (2.5%), Maryland (2.4%) and the remaining 27.5% in other states.
