Foreign-born population – 2025 | 15% of the population | Main countries of birth: Mexico (23%), India (8%), China (5%) |
Size: 52 million, 51% women | Evolution since 2015: +20% |
International Migration Outlook 2026
50th Edition
In 2025, the United States received 1 288 000 new immigrants on a long-term or permanent basis (including changes of status), ‑10% compared to 2024. This figure comprises 6% labour migrants, 75% family members (including accompanying family) and 12% humanitarian migrants. Around 270 000 permits were issued to tertiary-level international students and 830 000 to temporary and seasonal labour migrants.
In 2025, migration policy increasingly emphasised enforcement and removals. This approach was reinforced by the enactment in July 2025 of a major budget and policy package that substantially expanded resources for border management, detention and immigration enforcement. The legislation delegated significant implementation responsibilities to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies. In addition, the United States has pursued third-country repatriation agreements with many foreign countries.
Throughout 2025, DHS increased administrative co‑ordination between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with a focus on screening, vetting and execution of removal decisions. CBP Home now offers “assistance to voluntarily self-deport.”
Changes to asylum processing, introduced through administrative and regulatory measures in mid‑2025, expanded use of expedited procedures; migrants who cross irregularly can be deported faster without a court hearing. Administrative guidance issued mid-2025 reinforced requirements for pre‑scheduled appointments at ports of entry and broadened the scope for accelerated case handling.
DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine through 19 October 2026. In 2025 and early 2026, DHS issued notices terminating or announcing the intent to terminate TPS designations for several countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Somalia, considering they no longer met the conditions. Implementation in several cases has been subject to litigation and court orders.
Labour‑migration policy changes during the reference period affected both access channels and conditions attached to work authorisation. In September 2025, a Presidential proclamation introduced a USD 100 000 fee for new H‑1B Specialty Worker petitions submitted after 21 September 2025 and directing agencies to revise selection and wage‑prioritisation mechanisms for this temporary programme. Subsequent agency guidance was issued by USCIS, CBP and the Department of State during autumn 2025.
In March 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule aimed at reforming the method of calculating wages for workers admitted under the H‑1B, H‑1B1, E‑3 and PERM programmes. The DOL seeks to raise the minimum wages that employers must pay to foreign workers before the government certifies their labour requests, across all four wage levels used in the H‑1B system. Under the proposal, entry-level prevailing wage requirements would increase by approximately one‑third. In October 2025, the Department of Labor revised the methodology used to calculate H‑2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs). The new system introduced skill-based wage categories and generally reduced minimum wage requirements for many H‑2A positions, although the magnitude of the change varied across states and occupations.
In October 2025, DHS issued an interim final rule ending the automatic extension of employment authorisation documents (EADs) for most applicants filing renewal requests on or after 30 October 2025. Automatic extensions already granted, as well as certain extensions provided by statute or Federal Register notice, were not affected.
In July 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services rescinded a 1998 policy and reclassified several programmes as federal public benefits under stricter rules. Some immigrants (including those with TPS or parole) saw their eligibility for these programmes become restricted, as under the 1996 welfare law.
From 1 January 2026, nationals of 19 countries are barred from entering the United States for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas (Afghanistan, Burma, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen). Nationals of 19 additional countries face restrictions on immigrant visas and certain non-immigrant categories.
For further information: www.whitehouse.gov/ | www.loc.gov/ | www.federalregister.gov/ | www.uscis.gov/
