Annual International Migration Flows to and from the United States: 2000 to 2006

Alexa Kennedy-Puthoff, U.S. Census Bureau
Renuka Bhaskar, U.S. Census Bureau

Annual estimates of immigration to the United States have, historically, been difficult to construct. Lacking a comprehensive administrative records system that seeks to account for all migration across the borders of the country, researchers have relied on a combination of the available administrative record data, survey data, and assumptions about migration behavior to generate estimates of the number of international migrants coming to, and departing from, the United States. The work discussed here represents the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest efforts geared towards improving our estimates of annual international migration flows. Utilizing American Community Survey data, Puerto Rico Community Survey data, data from Census 2000, and information from the National Center for Health Statistics, we create annual estimates of net international migration for the United States, 2000-2006.