	Introduction

Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees and asylees, and the diversity of immigrants by country of origin. These principles are embodied in federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 replaced the national origins quota system (enacted after World War I) with per-country ceilings, and the statutory provisions regulating legal permanent immigration to the United States were last revised significantly by the Immigration Act of 1990. Refugees and asylees are people fleeing their countries because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. The conditions for the admission of immigrants and refugees are more stringent than for nonimmigrants, and many fewer immigrants than nonimmigrants are admitted each year. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the prospective immigrant or by the sponsoring relative or employer in the United States (in the case of family-sponsored or employment-based immigration, respectively). If the prospective immigrant is already legally residing in the United States, USCIS handles most of the process, which the INA refers to as "adjustment of status" because the alien is moving from a temporary status to LPR status. Immigrant admissions and adjustments to LPR status are subject to complex numerical limits and preference categories that give priority for admission on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity. In addition, immigrants who enter through the family-sponsored and employment based preference categories are subject to a 7% per-country cap (see " Per-country Ceilings " below). Numerical limits on immigration combined with the per-country cap for some categories has resulted in a sizable "visa queue" of foreign nationals with approved immigration petitions who must wait until a numerically limited visa becomes available before they can immigrate permanently to the United States (see " The Visa Queue " below). Current Law and Policy

		Worldwide Immigration Levels

The INA provides for a permanent annual worldwide level of 675,000 LPRs comprising three components: 
1. family-sponsored immigrants (480,000 plus certain unused employment-based preference numbers from the prior year), made up of two groups: 
a. immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and 
b. family-sponsored preference immigrants; 
1. employ ment-based preference immigrants (140,000 plus certain unused family preference numbers from the prior year); and 2. diversity immigrants (55,000). Despite the numerical limits, the annual worldwide level is flexible, and the INA permits certain LPR categories to exceed the limits. For example, although the INA places a limit of 480,000 on family-sponsored immigrants, some refer to that limit as a "permeable cap" because immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not numerically limited. The annual level of family-sponsored preference immigrants is determined as follows:
480,000 (the total family-sponsored immigration level), minus the number of immediate relatives granted LPR status in the prior year, minus the number of aliens paroled into the United States for at least a year, plus (when available) the number of unused employment preference immigrant from the prior year. If the number of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens admitted in the previous year happens to fall below 254,000 (the difference between 480,000 for all family-sponsored immigrants and 226,000 for family-sponsored preference immigrants), then family-sponsored preference immigrants may exceed 226,000 by that amount. Refugees and asylees are exempt from statutory numerical limits. This limitation is not a quota to which any particular country is entitled, however." The second exception allows the 7% per-country ceiling for employment-based immigrants to be surpassed for individual countries that are oversubscribed if visas are available within the 140,000 worldwide limit for employment-based preferences. The impact of these revisions to the per-country ceilings is discussed later in this report. Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based Preference Immigrants

As noted, family-sponsored and employment-based preference category immigrants are numerically limited. Within each family and employment preference category, the INA further allocates the number of people who can receive LPR status each year. The five family preference categories are based broadly upon a hierarchy of family relationships to U.S. citizens and LPRs. The fourth category includes 13 sub-categories of "special immigrants," including religious workers, employees of the U.S. government abroad, and juvenile court dependents. Diversity Immigrant Visa

The diversity immigrant visa fosters legal immigration from countries that send relatively few immigrants to the United States. Other Permanent Immigration Categories

Several other pathways apart from family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants allow persons to acquire LPR status. They range from aliens in removal (i.e., deportation) proceedings who are granted LPR status by an immigration judge, victims of crime and human trafficking, and refugees and asylees who adjust to LPR status. Table 2 summarizes these major pathways and any related numerical limitations. The annual number of persons acquiring LPR status who were admitted from abroad or adjusting status from within the United States rose gradually after World War II and continued steadily for three decades, partly as the result of war refugee admissions as well as a growing U.S. economy. First, while immigration at the start of the 20 st century was dominated by three or four countries, immigration at the start of the 21 st century originated from a much broader set of countries. Figure 2 also illustrates the change in geographic origin of U.S. immigration. Permanent Immigration in FY2016

In FY2016, approximately 1.2 million aliens became LPRs, either by being admitted as such upon arrival to the United States from overseas, or by adjusting to LPR status from a nonimmigrant status while in the United States ( Figure 3 ) . Of this total, just over two-thirds acquired LPR status as family-sponsored immigrants . Employment-based immigrants (12%) and refugees and asylees (13%) make up another quarter, and diversity immigrants (4%), and all other classes of immigrants (3%) make up the remainder. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, who are not numerically limited by the INA, accounted for 48% of all LPRs granted in 2016. In FY2016, Mexico was the source country of 15% of LPRs who were admitted or adjusted status. Other top countries were China (7%), Cuba (6%), India (5%), and the Dominican Republic (5%). In FY2016, 565,427 aliens (48%) adjusted to LPR status from within the United States, while 618,078 (52%) received visas issued abroad from DOS Consular Affairs, arrived from overseas, and were admitted as LPRs . In FY2016, most employment-based immigrants (82%) adjusted to LPR status from within the United States. The Visa Queue

The pool of people eligible to immigrate to the United States as LPRs each year typically exceeds the worldwide level set by U.S. immigration law. These published figures do not constitute a backlog of petitions to be processed; they represent persons who have been approved as family-sponsored or employment-based immigrants who cannot yet immigrate to the United States due to numerical limits in the INA. Family-sponsored preference immigrants dominated the queue of 4.06 million approved LPR visa petitions pending with the National Visa Center at the end of FY2017 ( Figure 4 ). Caveat on the Queue

In addition to the visa queue that has accumulated at DOS's National Visa Center and which is described in an annual DOS report, there is also a queue of petitions that have been received by USCIS and are pending completed processing. This queue includes family-sponsored, employment-based, and humanitarian (e.g., refugee, asylum) petitions for LPR status. When visa demand exceeds the numerical limits, visas are allocated according to the preference system detailed in Table 1 for the "oversubscribed" foreign state or dependent area. It indicates that, as of February 9, 2018 (the date when the March Visa Bulletin was published), relatives of U.S. citizens and LPRs who fell into all five of these categories and who had approved immigration petitions were waiting for a visa to become available. As such, it reflects the consequences of both numerical limits for family-sponsored and employment-based preference immigrants as well as the 7% per-country cap on those LPR categories. Visas granted for professional and skilled workers were current, except for workers from China, India and the Philippines, who faced waiting times. Those favoring expanded immigration typically advocate for specific changes. Some favor a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives still abroad and to meet the labor force needs of employers hiring foreign workers. Proponents of family-sponsored migration maintain that any proposal to increase immigration levels generally should also include the option of additional family-sponsored visas to reduce wait times—currently up to years or decades—for those already "in the queue." Those who favor reduced immigration contend that family-sponsored immigration permits relatively large numbers of foreign nationals to permanently settle in the United States without regard to their skill, education levels, or potential contribution to the U.S. economy. Some argue that family-sponsored immigration should be limited to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and LPRs.
Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees and asylees, and the diversity of immigrants by country of origin. These principles are embodied in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and are reflected in different components of permanent immigration. Family reunification occurs primarily through family-sponsored immigration. U.S. labor market contribution occurs through employment-based immigration. Humanitarian assistance occurs primarily through the U.S. refugee and asylee programs. Origin-country diversity is addressed through the Diversity Immigrant Visa.
In addition to the primary components of permanent immigration discussed above, there are several other pathways to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, though they account for relatively few immigrants. The most prominent among these are cancellation of removal for aliens in removal proceedings, U nonimmigrant visas for alien crime victims who assist law enforcement agencies, and T status for alien victims of human trafficking.
The pool of people eligible to immigrate to the United States as LPRs each year typically exceeds numerical limits established by the INA for most immigrant pathways. In an effort to process the demand for LPR visas fairly and in accordance with the national interest, the INA imposes a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories within major immigrant pathways that admit LPRs to the United States on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity.
The INA limits worldwide permanent immigration to 675,000 persons annually: 480,000 family-sponsored immigrants, made up of family-sponsored immediate relatives of U.S. citizens ("immediate relatives"), and a set of ordered family-sponsored preference immigrants ("preference immigrants"); 140,000 employment-based immigrants; and 55,000 diversity visa immigrants. This worldwide limit, however, is referred to as a "permeable cap," because certain categories of LPRs are not subject to numerical limitations. These include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens within the INA's family-sponsored immigration provisions, as well as refugees whose number is determined by the President in consultation with Congress. In addition, the number of persons granted asylum is not numerically constrained. Consequently, the number of persons receiving LPR status each year regularly exceeds the INA's statutory worldwide level for permanent immigration.
The INA further specifies that countries are held to a numerical limit of 7% of the annual worldwide level of family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants, known as the per-country limit or country cap. The cap is intended to prevent one or just a few countries from dominating immigrant flows.
In FY2016, almost 1.2 million aliens became LPRs. Of this total, 68% became LPRs through family-sponsored provisions of the INA. Other major LPR categories included refugees and asylees (13%), employment-based immigrants (12%), and diversity visa immigrants (4%). While 618,078 LPRs (52%) in FY2016 were granted LPR status upon their admission to the United States from abroad, 565,427 (48%) adjusted to LPR status from a temporary (i.e., nonimmigrant) status from within the United States. In FY2016, Mexico accounted for the largest proportion (15%) of LPRs who were admitted from abroad or adjusted status from within the United States. Other top immigrant source countries included China (7%), Cuba (6%), India (5%), and the Dominican Republic (5%).
At the start of FY2018, approximately 4.1 million approved LPR visa petitions—almost all family-sponsored petitions—were pending with the Department of State's National Visa Center because of the numerical limits in the INA. Approximate wait times for numerically limited family and employment preference visas range widely depending on the specific preference category and country of origin. Prospective family-sponsored immigrants from China, Mexico, India and the Philippines have the most substantial wait times before a visa is scheduled to become available to them.
Some have advocated for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of U.S. employers. Proponents of family-sponsored migration often maintain that proposals to increase immigration should include additional family-sponsored visas to more quickly reunify families by reducing wait times—currently up to years and decades—for those already "in the queue."
Those who favor reduced immigration have supported proposals to limit family-sponsored LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, to admit employment-based immigrants using some type of merit-based system, and to eliminate the diversity visa.
Four major principles currently underlie U.S. policy on legal permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees and asylees, and the diversity of immigrants by country of origin. These principles are embodied in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and are reflected in different components of permanent immigration. Family reunification occurs primarily through family-sponsored immigration. U.S. labor market contribution occurs through employment-based immigration. Humanitarian assistance occurs primarily through the U.S. refugee and asylee programs. Origin-country diversity is addressed through the Diversity Immigrant Visa.
In addition to the primary components of permanent immigration discussed above, there are several other pathways to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, though they account for relatively few immigrants. The most prominent among these are cancellation of removal for aliens in removal proceedings, U nonimmigrant visas for alien crime victims who assist law enforcement agencies, and T status for alien victims of human trafficking.
The pool of people eligible to immigrate to the United States as LPRs each year typically exceeds numerical limits established by the INA for most immigrant pathways. In an effort to process the demand for LPR visas fairly and in accordance with the national interest, the INA imposes a complex set of numerical limits and preference categories within major immigrant pathways that admit LPRs to the United States on the basis of family relationships, needed skills, and geographic diversity.
The INA limits worldwide permanent immigration to 675,000 persons annually: 480,000 family-sponsored immigrants, made up of family-sponsored immediate relatives of U.S. citizens ("immediate relatives"), and a set of ordered family-sponsored preference immigrants ("preference immigrants"); 140,000 employment-based immigrants; and 55,000 diversity visa immigrants. This worldwide limit, however, is referred to as a "permeable cap," because certain categories of LPRs are not subject to numerical limitations. These include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens within the INA's family-sponsored immigration provisions, as well as refugees whose number is determined by the President in consultation with Congress. In addition, the number of persons granted asylum is not numerically constrained. Consequently, the number of persons receiving LPR status each year regularly exceeds the INA's statutory worldwide level for permanent immigration.
The INA further specifies that countries are held to a numerical limit of 7% of the annual worldwide level of family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants, known as the per-country limit or country cap. The cap is intended to prevent one or just a few countries from dominating immigrant flows.
In FY2016, almost 1.2 million aliens became LPRs. Of this total, 68% became LPRs through family-sponsored provisions of the INA. Other major LPR categories included refugees and asylees (13%), employment-based immigrants (12%), and diversity visa immigrants (4%). While 618,078 LPRs (52%) in FY2016 were granted LPR status upon their admission to the United States from abroad, 565,427 (48%) adjusted to LPR status from a temporary (i.e., nonimmigrant) status from within the United States. In FY2016, Mexico accounted for the largest proportion (15%) of LPRs who were admitted from abroad or adjusted status from within the United States. Other top immigrant source countries included China (7%), Cuba (6%), India (5%), and the Dominican Republic (5%).
At the start of FY2018, approximately 4.1 million approved LPR visa petitions—almost all family-sponsored petitions—were pending with the Department of State's National Visa Center because of the numerical limits in the INA. Approximate wait times for numerically limited family and employment preference visas range widely depending on the specific preference category and country of origin. Prospective family-sponsored immigrants from China, Mexico, India and the Philippines have the most substantial wait times before a visa is scheduled to become available to them.
Some have advocated for a significant reallocation of the visa categories or a substantial increase in legal immigration to satisfy the desire of U.S. families to reunite with their relatives abroad and to meet the labor force needs of U.S. employers. Proponents of family-sponsored migration often maintain that proposals to increase immigration should include additional family-sponsored visas to more quickly reunify families by reducing wait times—currently up to years and decades—for those already "in the queue."
Those who favor reduced immigration have supported proposals to limit family-sponsored LPRs to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, to confine employment-based LPRs to highly skilled workers, to admit employment-based immigrants using some type of merit-based system, and to eliminate the diversity visa.