However , the true second wave of immigration did not begin until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished national origins quotas . After the passage of that act , Armenians from the Soviet Union , Turkey , Lebanon , Iran and other Middle Eastern countries began migrating in large numbers , many fleeing political instability in their host countries . In the 1950s , most Armenian immigrants in the US were from Soviet Armenia and Turkey . The Istanbul pogrom in 1955 frightened the local Turkish Armenian population , which looked to the West for a safe and more prosperous life
Istanbul pogrom
Istanbul pogrom
Armenian Americans