How Many Legal Immigrants Live in the U.S. Today?

Roughly 40 million legal immigrants live in the United States today. That figure combines about 26 million naturalized citizens, 12.8 million lawful permanent residents holding green cards, and several million people present on temporary visas for work or study.¹² The total foreign-born population, which also includes people without legal status, reached 51.9 million by mid-2025, so those lawfully present make up roughly three-quarters of it.

Where the Number Comes From

No single federal database produces a clean headcount of every lawful immigrant. The Census Bureau counts the entire foreign-born population through the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey, but it does not ask about legal status.³ The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics tracks administrative data instead: how many green cards were issued, how many people naturalized, how many refugees were admitted.⁴ Researchers then combine the two to estimate how the foreign-born population breaks down by status.

Most headline immigration figures reported in the news are the total foreign-born count and mix legal and unauthorized residents together. As of 2022, that total sat at 46.2 million, or 13.9 percent of the U.S. population.⁵ By mid-2025 it had grown to 51.9 million. Subtracting estimates of the unauthorized population from that total is what produces the roughly 40 million figure for legal immigrants.

Naturalized Citizens

Naturalized citizens are the largest single group. About 26 million lived in the country as of 2024, representing roughly 51 percent of the total foreign-born population.¹ Once naturalized, they hold the same legal rights as people born in the country.

To naturalize, a permanent resident generally must have lived continuously in the United States for at least five years, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen, show good moral character, and pass a civics and English test.⁶ About 878,500 people naturalized in fiscal year 2023, feeding the group at close to a million a year.

Lawful Permanent Residents

DHS estimated 12.8 million lawful permanent residents lived in the United States as of January 2024.² Green card holders can live and work in the country indefinitely, travel abroad, and eventually apply for citizenship. Most got their status through family sponsorship, an employer petition, or adjustment from refugee or asylee status.

Federal law caps how many new green cards can be issued each year. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the annual worldwide level is roughly 480,000 for family-sponsored immigrants (with a floor of 226,000), 140,000 for employment-based immigrants, and 55,000 for the diversity visa lottery.⁷ No single country can take more than 7 percent of the total family-sponsored and employment-based visas in a given year, which produces long backlogs for applicants from high-demand countries like India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines.⁸

Temporary Visa Holders

Several million foreign nationals are lawfully in the country on temporary, or nonimmigrant, visas at any given time. The exact count fluctuates constantly because these admissions are, by design, time-limited. In fiscal year 2024, U.S. ports of entry processed about 77.6 million I-94 arrival records for nonimmigrant admissions, though most of those were short-term visitors for business or tourism rather than long-term residents. Federal law draws a sharp line between nonimmigrants, admitted for a specific purpose and duration, and immigrants who intend to stay permanently.⁹

The categories that matter most for long-term residents include H-1B specialty workers, L-1 intracompany transferees, F-1 international students, and J-1 exchange visitors. The H-1B program alone drew about 339,000 eligible unique beneficiaries for fiscal year 2026, of whom USCIS selected roughly 120,000 through the registration lottery.¹⁰ Pew Research Center estimated that lawful temporary residents accounted for about 4 percent of the total immigrant population as of 2023.

Refugees and Asylees

Refugees and asylees are a smaller but legally distinct part of the lawfully present population. Refugees are screened and approved before arrival; asylees apply for protection after reaching the country. Both can eventually adjust to permanent resident status and later naturalize, which means most end up counted in the LPR or naturalized totals over time.

The president sets an annual ceiling on refugee admissions. For fiscal year 2026 that ceiling was set at 7,500, a sharp reduction from ceilings in recent decades that ranged from about 18,000 to 125,000.¹¹ The FY 2026 determination directed admissions primarily toward Afrikaners from South Africa and other individuals facing discrimination in their home countries, and separate executive orders suspended most refugee entries unless the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security jointly determine an admission serves the national interest.

Where Legal Immigrants Come From

The foreign-born population draws from every region, but two dominate. As of 2024, nearly 45 percent of international migrants living in North America came from Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Asia at about 32 percent, Europe at roughly 11 percent, and Africa at approximately 4 percent. Mexico has been the single largest country of origin for decades, though its share has gradually declined as migration from India, China, and the Philippines has grown.

Because of the 7 percent per-country cap, the composition of new green card recipients each year looks different from the existing population.⁸ India and China carry enormous employment-based backlogs, while family-based immigration still draws heavily from Mexico and Central America. Applicants from lower-demand countries move through the system in a fraction of the time.

1
Congress.gov. Naturalization: Policy Overview and Selected Trends
2
Department of Homeland Security. Estimates of the Lawful Permanent Resident Population in the United States: January 2024
3
United States Census Bureau. Native-Born and Foreign-Born Population
4
Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
5
U.S. Census Bureau. The Foreign-Born Population in the United States
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1427 – Requirements of Naturalization
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1151 – Worldwide Level of Immigration
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
11
Federal Register. Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2026