A study of Migration Policy Institute (MPI) finds that the Indian diaspora in the United States is comprised of approximately 4.8 million individuals quoting the U.S. Census Bureau data. It further added that this figure includes individuals who were either born in India or reported Indian ancestry or race in the US.
Germany tops the list of diasporas with 41 million followed by Mexico with 38 mn, while Indians rank tenth on the diaspora charts. 2. 7 million Indian immigrants living in the US as of 2021 made up 6% of the total foreign-born population, and their numbers continue to grow as suggested in the study.
However, when compared to all immigrants in US, this study ‘Spotlight on Indian immigrants in the US’ finds that the largest share of Indians, approximately 41 percent, arrived in 2010 or later, as compared to just 25 percent of the overall foreign-born population. They are the second largest immigrant group, following Mexico, and are the main beneficiaries of the non-immigrant H-1B visas for highly skilled individuals. Interestingly this figure was equal to all the foreign population in US between 2000-2009.
According to the authors of the MPI study Ari Joffman and Jeanne Batalova, Indians aremuch more likely to have arrived in large numbers since the year 2000 and beyond when compared to all immigrants.
13-fold increase
The Indian immigrant population in the United States increased 13-fold between 1980 to 2019.
The United Arab Emirates is the most popular destination with 3.4 million Indian followed by the United States as the second most popular destination for Indians living abroad with above 2.6 million population. Other top destinations include Saudi Arabia (2.4 million), Pakistan (1.6 million), Oman (1.3 million), and Kuwait (1.1 million), according to mid-2019 United Nations Population Division estimates.
Unauthorized immigrants
The study also finds out a jump in unauthorised arrivals of Indian immigrants at the US-Mexico borders. The US border authorities encountered Indian migrants 18,300 times between October 2021 and September 2022, a spike from 2,600 when compared to October 2020 and September 2021. An estimated 11 million unauthorised immigrants in the US were from India.
Immigration Pathways of Indian
The study finds out that most Indians who obtain green cards through family reunification channels.
38 percent of the Indian received a green card for employment, while about 59 percent of them received a green card either as immediate relatives or other family members of U.S. citizens at a rate almost three times higher than for all new LPRs (lawful permanent residence).
Young Indians
Nearly 80% of Indian immigrants are of working age group of 18 to 64 years. Younger than the overall foreign-born population.
Education levels
Indian are relatively higher on educational front when compared to other immigrants. According to MPI’s study, nearly 49% of Indian immigrant adults held a graduate or professional degree in 2021 compared to 15% of the foreignborn and 13% of native adults.
Income
Households headed by an Indian immigrant had anaverage annual income of $150,000, compared to $70,000 for all immigrant and native-led ones in 2021.
Remittances
Remittances to India have increased by 55 percent since 2010 and represented nearly 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019. Indians living abroad sent more than $83.1 billion in remittances to India via formal channels in 2019, according to World Bank estimates.
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