WASHINGTON, D.C., December 6, 2007: An examination of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service reports reveals that, after Mexicans, Indians are the largest group of legal immigrants to the US in three out of the last four years.
Here are the statistics by year, country and number of legal immigrants gaining permanent resident status drawn from their yearly reports available at URL above:
2006
Mexico 170,046
China 83,628
Philippines 71,134
Russia 59,760
*India 58,072
2005
Mexico 157,992
*India 79,140
China 64,921
Russia 60,395
Philippines 57,656
2004
Mexico 173,664
*India 65,472
Philippines 54,632
China 45,942
Soviet Union 36,646
2003
Mexico 114,984
*India 47,157
Philippines 43,258
China 37,395
Soviet Union 33,563
In addition to those gaining permanent residency, there are some 200,000 to 300,000 skilled worker visas issued each year to Indians.
This data means that, after Mexicans, Indians are the fastest growing immigrant community in the country. Indians are already the best educated and wealthiest. It was pointed out by one USCIS official that such a fast-growing community will obviously need to be building places of worship and bringing in priests and other religious workers, as existing facilities are being rapidly outgrown. As well, communities in areas with no temples presently are reaching the critical mass necessary to institute building programs.
This analysis is useful in the present discussion over the R-1 Religious Worker Visa Program. The Hindu community is objecting that proposed revisions to the program do not adequately embrace the particular religious needs of Hindus, such as for the skilled artisans (sthapatis and silpis) who build the temples. Also, the high immigration rate explains why overseas embassies and consulates are seeing an increasing number of requests for priest and artisan visas to serve Hindu communities in America.