Spatial patterns of Asian immigration flow to the United States: A cross-national study

Abstract

Immigration to the United States has shifted radically since the Immigration Act of 1965. Immigration from Europe has decreased, and that from Central and South America and Asia has increased. The 1965 Act removed previous restrictions on immigration from Asian countries. As a result, the proportion of immigrants from Asia has increased dramatically. The objective of this article is to examine the spatial patterns of relative flow of Asian immigrants to the United States. An immigration index, expressing the rate of immigration from a selected Asian country, relative to the all-Asian rate of immigration, is calculated and mapped to identify source countries of over- and under-representation. The study found that the volume of flow originated from 18 of the 29 selected countries of Asia is more or less consistent with the overall immigration rate of the continent. The remaining 11 countries sent a relatively smaller number of immigrants. This finding has important policy implications for the government agencies concerned with U.S. immigration policies. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.