Nigeria is now among the top 20 countries worldwide receiving United States permanent residency status visas, commonly known as green cards.
This was revealed in a BusinessDay report, citing 2022 data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The data shows that 12,385 Nigerians were granted permanent residency in the United States during the period under review.
In comparison, Mexico and India were identified as the leading sources of new permanent residents, with a combined total of 265,784 individuals, making up 26% of all new permanent residents.
A broader analysis of the data indicates that 1,018,349 immigrants globally were issued permanent residency, including 82,117 green cards granted to African nationals.
Among the Nigerians who received green cards, 7,529 were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, 818 were through family-sponsored preferences, 3,213 through employment-based preferences, 14 through diversity programs, 797 as refugees and asylees, and 14 through other broad categories of admission.
Regarding asylum, Nigeria saw 259 individuals granted asylum affirmatively in 2022, a significant rise from 61 in 2013.
In terms of naturalization, the number of naturalized Nigerians increased from 9,545 in 2013 to 14,438 in 2022.
In a related development, the U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it had issued all visas in the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) category for the fiscal year 2024.
“The State Department, in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is pleased to announce the issuance of all available visas in the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) category for fiscal year (FY) 2024,” the statement read.
This announcement comes amidst a growing trend among Nigerians, particularly the youth, to emigrate, a phenomenon popularly known as ‘Japa syndrome.’
Beyond the United States, the Nigerian population in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Austria has also surged significantly over the past four years, according to available data.