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# **More than 99%** of people who want to immigrate to the US don’t qualify 

![Immigration Sankey Insights](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2023-06/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%283%29.png?itok=Uofzmobx) 

April 12, 2024 

Sources 

Sources 

Neli Esipova, Anita Pugliese, and Julie Ray, “More than 750 Million Worldwide Would Migrate If They Could,” Gallup, December 10, 2018; David J. Bier, “Family and Employment Green Card Backlog Exceeds 9 Million,” Cato at Liberty (blog), Cato Institute, September 29, 2021; and “FY2021 Appropriations Reporting Requirement Refugee Data,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, June 29, 2021.

Notes 

Notes 

\* = Worker counts include diversity visa lottery entrants, the dependents of lottery entrants, and employer-sponsored applicants. \*\* = The United States granted permanent residence to about 1.1 million immigrants. Those legalized from illegal status in the United States or refugees admitted in earlier years are not shown.

Further Reading 

Further Reading 

David J. Bier, [“Why Legal Immigration Is Nearly Impossible: U.S. Legal Immigration Rules Explained,”](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/why-legal-immigration-nearly-impossible) Cato Institute, June 13, 2023.

For questions please contact <insights@cato.org>.

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[Cato Insights](/insights)

[Cato Insights](/insights) illustrate, through thought-provoking data visualizations, important truths central to promoting and supporting a more free and open society.

[Cato Insights Gallery](/insights) 

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