Number of Indians receiving Green Cards on decline in US

The number of Indians receiving the coveted Green Card or the Legal Permanent Residency status in the US has experienced a considerable decline in the past three years.

The Legal Permanent Residency (LPR) is a step short of US citizenship, and is a much sought after status for those who eventually want to acquire US citizenship.

However, latest official figures released on Thursday showed that the number of Indians being granted the Green Card has declined each year since 2007.

In 2009, as many as 57,309 Indians received the Green Card, while in 2008 the figure was 63,352 and the previous year in 2007 as many as 65,353 Indians had received the Legal Permanent Residency Status.

According to the Annual Flow Report released by the US Department of Homeland Security, in 2009 a total of 1,130,818 persons became LPRs of the United States.

India was, however, among the top five countries who provided the maximum number of LPRs to the US in 2009.

The majority of new LPRs (59%) already lived in the United States when they were granted lawful permanent residence, while nearly two-thirds were granted permanent resident status based on a family relationship with a US citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.

In 2009, 15% of all persons becoming LPRs were born in Mexico.

The second leading country of birth was China (5.7%), followed by the Philippines (5.3%), India (5.1%), and the Dominican Republic (4.4%).

These five countries accounted for 35% of all new LPRs in 2009, it said.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the leading regions of birth of persons becoming LPRs in 2009 were Asia (37%) and North America (33%).

Together, Asia and North America accounted for approximately 70% of the LPR flow each year from 2007 to 2009.

California was the state of residence of one-fifth (20%) of persons gaining LPR status in 2009.

Other leading states of residence included New York (13%), Florida (11%), Texas (8.4%), and New Jersey (5.2%).

These five states represented the residence of 58% of new LPRs in 2009.

- Indian Journalist.