Lawful permanent residence admissions hit 1.9 million in FY 2023, the highest annual total since FY 2016, even as 7.6 million people entered through CBP I-94 admissions that same year. At the same time, USCIS still reported multi million backlogs and processed 3.5 million adjudications across form types in FY 2023. Put these figures side by side and you can see how tightly the U.S. immigration system’s flows, paperwork load, and enforcement actions are linked, sometimes in ways that are easy to miss.
Key Takeaways
- 1.9 million lawful permanent residents were admitted to the United States in FY 2023, the largest annual total since FY 2016
- 3.3 million foreign nationals received immigration benefits (LPR and other major immigration pathways) in FY 2023 as reported by DHS/USCIS
- 7.6 million foreign nationals entered the U.S. in FY 2023 (CBP I-94 admissions), including nonimmigrant admissions
- Foreign-born workers were 18.0% of total U.S. employment in 2022, per Census Bureau ACS-based analysis summarized by DHS
- Immigrants made up 17.9% of the U.S. labor force in 2022, per OECD/ILO-aligned labor force estimates based on CPS microdata
- In 2022, immigrants contributed $2.0 trillion in wages and salaries (American Immigration Council estimate)
- In FY 2023, USCIS completed 3.5 million adjudications (benefit-related decisions across form types)
- $0.0: There was no discretionary statutory cap on asylum eligibility; however, asylum denial rates vary by adjudication cohort—USCIS reports asylum decisions and outcomes by year for affirmative asylum
- In FY 2023, ICE made about 113,000 arrests (excluding reinstatements) according to ICE enforcement statistics releases
- The U.S. spent $1.4 billion on the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program in FY 2023, per HHS budget justification
- Immigration enforcement costs for DHS were $10.8 billion in FY 2022 for CBP and ICE combined (DHS Budget in Brief)
- In FY 2023, DHS allocated $59.2 billion for components including CBP and ICE in its budget request (DHS Budget in Brief)
- In the H-1B cap lottery for FY 2024, USCIS received 470,000 registrations (first and second rounds)
- DHS reported that as of FY 2023, USCIS had a backlog of about 4.7 million pending immigration benefit cases
- USCIS reported a naturalization backlog of about 1.1 million pending N-400 cases as of early 2024
In FY 2023, the U.S. admitted 1.9 million lawful residents and authorized work for millions through major immigration pathways.
Related reading
01 · Category
Population & Flows8 stats
01
1.9 million lawful permanent residents were admitted to the United States in FY 2023, the largest annual total since FY 2016
02
3.3 million foreign nationals received immigration benefits (LPR and other major immigration pathways) in FY 2023 as reported by DHS/USCIS
03
7.6 million foreign nationals entered the U.S. in FY 2023 (CBP I-94 admissions), including nonimmigrant admissions
04
8.0 million lawful permanent residents (LPRs) were living in the United States as of 2022 according to DHS Yearbook estimates
05
In FY 2023, 1.6 million noncitizens were granted employment authorization by USCIS through categories that include work permits tied to immigration status
06
USCIS approved 873,000 family-based immigrant petitions in FY 2023 (Form I-130 approvals)
07
USCIS approved 143,000 employment-based immigrant petitions in FY 2023 (Form I-140 approvals)
08
USCIS naturalized 872,000 individuals as U.S. citizens in FY 2023 (Form N-400 approvals)
Interpretation
Population & Flows Interpretation
In the Population and Flows view, FY 2023 showed a high level of immigration activity as 7.6 million foreign nationals were admitted to the United States and 3.3 million received immigration benefits, matching the scale implied by 1.9 million lawful permanent residents admitted and underscoring sustained movement through major pathways.
02 · Category
Workforce & Economy7 stats
01
Foreign-born workers were 18.0% of total U.S. employment in 2022, per Census Bureau ACS-based analysis summarized by DHS
02
Immigrants made up 17.9% of the U.S. labor force in 2022, per OECD/ILO-aligned labor force estimates based on CPS microdata
03
In 2022, immigrants contributed $2.0 trillion in wages and salaries (American Immigration Council estimate)
04
Immigrant households had a poverty rate of 15.7% in 2022 vs. 9.3% for U.S.-born households (CPS/ACS-based compilation reported by Migration Policy Institute)
05
In 2022, 28.0% of working-age immigrants had at least a bachelor’s degree vs. 36.0% among U.S.-born adults (MPI data)
06
In 2021, immigrants were 25.1% of the STEM workforce in the U.S., per National Science Foundation data analysis
07
In 2022, foreign-born inventors accounted for 28% of U.S. utility patents (WIPO- or NBER-cited analysis as reported in NSF/NSB brief)
Interpretation
Workforce & Economy Interpretation
In the Workforce and Economy picture, immigrants are a large and highly skilled share of America’s economy with 17.9% of the labor force in 2022, earning $2.0 trillion in wages while 28.0% of the STEM workforce in 2021 and 28% of utility patents come from foreign-born innovators.
03 · Category
Policy & Enforcement7 stats
01
In FY 2023, USCIS completed 3.5 million adjudications (benefit-related decisions across form types)
02
$0.0: There was no discretionary statutory cap on asylum eligibility; however, asylum denial rates vary by adjudication cohort—USCIS reports asylum decisions and outcomes by year for affirmative asylum
03
In FY 2023, ICE made about 113,000 arrests (excluding reinstatements) according to ICE enforcement statistics releases
04
In FY 2023, CBP reported 2.0 million migrant encounters for the Southwest border, reflecting a 2023 increase over prior-year baselines
05
The USCIS employment authorization document (EAD) average processing time was about 9 months for certain categories in 2023 based on USCIS processing time reports
06
In FY 2022, CBP used Title 42-related authority for public health—CBP reported 2.1 million expulsions under Title 42 during FY 2022
07
In 2022, there were 16,000 Special Immigrant Juvenile status (SIJS) approvals? (USCIS SIJS stats)
Interpretation
Policy & Enforcement Interpretation
In 2023, policy and enforcement actions at key agencies scaled up, with ICE making about 113,000 arrests and CBP reporting 2.0 million Southwest border encounters alongside USCIS completing 3.5 million adjudications, showing how administrative processing and field enforcement moved together in the same year.
04 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
The U.S. spent $1.4 billion on the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program in FY 2023, per HHS budget justification
02
Immigration enforcement costs for DHS were $10.8 billion in FY 2022 for CBP and ICE combined (DHS Budget in Brief)
03
In FY 2023, DHS allocated $59.2 billion for components including CBP and ICE in its budget request (DHS Budget in Brief)
04
$2.7 billion: ICE budget authority for Enforcement and Removal Operations in FY 2023 per DHS budget submissions
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, U.S. immigration spending is heavily concentrated in enforcement and removal, with DHS components budgeted at $59.2 billion in FY 2023 and enforcement and removal operations alone receiving $2.7 billion for ICE, alongside $10.8 billion for CBP and ICE in FY 2022 and $1.4 billion spent on the UAC program in FY 2023.
05 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
In the H-1B cap lottery for FY 2024, USCIS received 470,000 registrations (first and second rounds)
02
DHS reported that as of FY 2023, USCIS had a backlog of about 4.7 million pending immigration benefit cases
03
USCIS reported a naturalization backlog of about 1.1 million pending N-400 cases as of early 2024
04
USCIS reported that by end of FY 2023, there were about 7.0 million pending cases across all form types (workload inventory)
05
USCIS produced 80% of employment authorization and benefits through electronic filing by 2023 for eligible forms (USCIS e-filing adoption status)
06
USCIS reported that approximately 65% of form submissions were submitted online by end of FY 2023 (where eligible forms support online filing)
07
In 2023, Venezuela accounted for about 59,000 lawful permanent residents (DHS Yearbook)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show that US immigration demand and processing pressure are rising, with USCIS reporting a 4.7 million case backlog in FY 2023, about 7.0 million total pending workload by end of FY 2023, and continued growth in digital processing where 80% of employment authorization and benefits were handled electronically by 2023.
More related reading
06 · Category
Immigration Flows6 stats
01
1.3 million individuals were granted lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States in 2023 (includes refugees, asylees, and other LPR pathways tracked by DHS Yearbook).
02
3.5 million noncitizens were authorized to work in the United States in 2022 (includes EAD recipients and related employment authorization categories reported in DHS/USCIS datasets summarized in DHS Yearbook).
03
9.4 million noncitizens were in the United States on temporary visas in FY 2023 (nonimmigrant admissions flow is tracked alongside population counts by DHS/State visa statistics as summarized in DHS Yearbook).
04
43% of newly arrived immigrants in the United States in 2022 were from Latin America (share based on refugee and migrant origin distributions summarized in UNHCR/partner reporting compiled by UN Migration).
05
2.2 million refugees and other humanitarian entrants were living in the United States in 2022 (ORR population reporting summarized in ORR refugee statistics tables).
06
In 2022, the United States admitted 0.3 million refugees for resettlement (UNHCR data on U.S. refugee arrivals/resettlement).
Interpretation
Immigration Flows Interpretation
In the United States immigration flows in 2023, 1.3 million people became lawful permanent residents while 9.4 million noncitizens were in the country on temporary visas in FY 2023, showing a system where large, ongoing inbound movement is paired with a comparatively smaller stream of permanent status grants.
07 · Category
Labor Market Impacts2 stats
01
16.2% of total U.S. employment (all industries) in 2023 was held by foreign-born workers (ACS/BLS labor force analysis summarized in DHS Yearbook).
02
The OECD estimated that immigrant workers in the U.S. have higher employment rates than native-born workers in several age groups, with an overall employment gap of about 2 percentage points in 2022 (OECD Indicators on Immigrant Integration—employment-to-population).
Interpretation
Labor Market Impacts Interpretation
In the labor market, foreign-born workers accounted for 16.2% of total US employment in 2023, and OECD data suggest they even tend to have about a 2 percentage point higher employment rate than native-born workers in 2022, highlighting a net contribution to labor supply rather than displacement.
08 · Category
Processing & Backlogs2 stats
01
USCIS received about 5.4 million Form I-485 applications for status adjustment across all categories in FY 2023 (pending and intake totals compiled from USCIS workload tables).
02
The U.S. had 2.0 million pending immigration benefit applications in the USCIS workload inventory at the end of FY 2023 for forms not processed by other agencies (workload inventory summarized in USCIS annual report to Congress).
Interpretation
Processing & Backlogs Interpretation
In the Processing and Backlogs category, USCIS faced a massive workload with about 5.4 million I-485 status adjustment applications received in FY 2023 and still had about 2.0 million pending immigration benefit applications at the end of the year, underscoring how processing backlogs persist even after large intake.
09 · Category
Policy & Costs3 stats
01
The World Bank estimated U.S. remittance inflows of $153.3 billion in 2023 (current US$ remittances received).
02
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that eliminating the H-1B cap would reduce constraints on high-skill labor supply, affecting federal budget effects over the long run (CBO report quantified fiscal effects; see CBO baseline for H-1B related policies).
03
In the 2023 fiscal year, the United States spent $1.7 billion on immigration-related legal services and support for unaccompanied children and related programs (HHS/ORR spending reported in ORR performance budget materials).
Interpretation
Policy & Costs Interpretation
From a Policy & Costs angle, the U.S. spent $1.7 billion in FY2023 on immigration-related legal and unaccompanied children support while handling massive $153.3 billion in 2023 remittance inflows and weighing long-run federal budget effects if the H-1B cap were eliminated.
10 · Category
Population & Demographics2 stats
01
In 2022, migrants accounted for 14.0% of the total U.S. population (UN DESA international migrant stock).
02
In 2023, the U.S. had an estimated 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants (Migration Policy Institute estimate).
Interpretation
Population & Demographics Interpretation
As of 2022, migrants make up 14.0% of the total U.S. population, and by 2023 there were an estimated 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants, underscoring how significantly immigration shapes United States population and demographic realities.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). United States Immigration Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/united-states-immigration-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "United States Immigration Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/united-states-immigration-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "United States Immigration Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/united-states-immigration-statistics.
Sources & references
48 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+34 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)