Image credit: US immigration 1660 to 2009 EN taken by Masaqui under Public Domain.
The United States still remains as one of the most desired countries for migrants. Many people still view the U.S. as the land of opportunity. Many people think that this could be the best thing that they could do and many have truly become successful because of their decision to leave their country and come to America. This means that they have gone through the legal process of migrating to the U.S. because they were able to seek better employment. Immigrating to the United States legally is the first and only option to reap the advantages of living in this great country.
Reasons for migration
There are many reasons why people from all over the world want to migrate to America. It could be for better job opportunities and the chance to make more money. It could be to realize a dream, to study, leave poverty behind, and find better treatment opportunities and facilities for their medical condition or they have a trade or specific job that they think would be more successful in the U.S.
Living in America can be a better way of life for some people, and they cherish the freedom of expression that the country allows. Others try to move to the country for political reasons (asylum seekers), others want to live in a democratic country and others who come for a vacation would decide that the country is more suited to them. Others want to join their relatives who are already in the U.S.
Whatever the reasons people have for migrating to the United States, legal entry to the country is important, as well as becoming productive individuals once they have successfully migrated.
Who are likely to move to the United States?
In 2013, Gallup released the results of their study on migration. They had surveyed participants from 154 countries. They asked the question of whether or not they would like to migrate and to which country. The most popular answer was the United States and the company estimated that about 138 million people around the world like to come to the U.S.
From the data they have released, there are 44 countries where about 5% of the adult population positively wants to move to the U.S. In 15 of those countries, more than 10% are willing to make the move, given the chance. From the data, it appeared that the desire to move to the U.S. was not necessarily related to wealth, since the GDP per capita in the Middle East and South Asia is low yet many countries in these regions showed lower percentages.
Larger numbers
The larger percentages came from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, where the U.S. enjoys high favorable ratings. For centuries, Latin America and the United States enjoy strong cultural and historical connection. People from sub-Saharan Africa on the other hand admire the prosperity enjoyed by many African-Americans.
It was revealing that the country with the highest number of people who want to live in the United States is Liberia. The survey results showed that 37.3% of the country’s population would like to migrate to the U.S. Liberia is a country that has strong ties with America, because it was established in the 19th century by American slaves that were set free. It celebrates American thanksgiving. Its one-star flag is a version of the U.S. flag and it depended on the U.S. for assistance in stemming their civil wars. Next to Liberia is Sierra Leone, which is Liberia’s neighbor.
The Philippines, which was once an American colony, comes up high in the survey as well, which was not surprising, given the historical ties between these two countries. There is also a large Armenian population in the U.S., which could be a reason why the percentage of those who want to migrate from that country is high as well. Although the numbers from India and China are small, with the large population of these two countries, even 1% is still equivalent to several million people. Even the United Kingdom and Israel displayed high results.
The numbers tally to a staggering 138 million, and that’s just the people that want to move to the United States. Gallup started the tracking of this pattern in 2007.
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