Fiscal Year (2020) U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents Annual Flow Report
This report provides information on the number and characteristics of persons who became Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) in Fiscal Year 2020 (ending September 30, 2020). It should be noted that “new LPRs” are not necessarily new arrivals—63 percent of new LPRs were already in the U.S. and adjusted to permanent residence from some other immigration status. The time period covered in this report includes the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which both USCIS and Department of State Consular Offices were temporarily closed. As a result, the numbers presented in this report are out of line with recent trends. Grants of LPR status in 2020 were at their lowest level since 2003. Concurrent with the decrease in numbers of people granted immigrant visas, processing backlogs have skyrocketed—from January 2020 to February 2021, the number of pending visa cases increased six-fold. The report includes details of admissions by category of immigrant visa (family- and employment-sponsored; diversity; refugee and asylee adjustments); top countries of origin; top state and Metropolitan area of residence; and age, sex, and marital status of new LPRs. There are a number of tables showing trends for the past 3 fiscal years. (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Associates)
Gibson, I. (2021, September). Fiscal Year 2020 U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents Annual Flow Report. Office of Immigration Statistics, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.