On September 12, 2024, over 600 US Permanent Resident Green Card holders from 95 countries were granted American citizenship at a naturalization ceremony held in Kansas City, Missouri. The US citizenship ceremony took place at Kauffman Stadium before thousands of people and was presided over by the United States Magistrate Judge for the region. Immigrants from South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Mexico, Ecuador, India, Bosnia, and 87 other countries took the Oath of Allegiance to become American citizens as their families and friends watched with smiling faces. The newly naturalized US citizens were also beaming big smiles as they held small American flags with joy. A married couple from South Africa, along with their three sons, hugged each other after becoming American citizens at the ceremony. They had immigrated to the USA in 2013 and the father spoke with pride about what a privilege and honor it was to become American citizens. Another immigrant who was from Mexico declared that she was “so excited” to receive US citizenship and looked forward to voting in the November 2024 election. To read more, click here!

In July 2024, CNBC released its annual ranking of the best states in the USA for high quality of life. Each of the 50 states were evaluated based on factors such as healthcare, worker protection, inclusiveness, childcare, personal freedom, crime rate and air quality. Vermont was rated as the best state for quality of life in 2024, receiving a grade of A+ and achieving high marks for such factors as low crime, good air quality, inclusiveness, and voting rights. Maine was ranked #2 and received an A, with low crime, inclusiveness, childcare and healthcare among its strengths. The #3 top state for quality of life was New Jersey, which was given an A- and scored well for inclusiveness, crime, and protection of workers. Minnesota was ranked #4 and did especially well in regards to voting rights, crime and healthcare. The State of Washington was listed as #5 and obtained a grade of B+ for its protection of workers, inclusiveness and voting rights. It was noted that the minimum wage for workers in the State of Washington, which is $16.28 per hour, is the second highest in the USA. To read more, click here!

One of the most important factors to consider when living in America is the cost of housing, so you may want to review the US News & World Report ranking of the 25 most affordable cities in the United States for 2024-2025. According to this ranking, the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the #1 most affordable city to live in the USA, where residents only spend about 19.56% of household income on living expenses. The median household income in Fort Wayne is $71,507 per year ($5,958 per month), the median home price in the city is $169,485 and the median cost of rent is just $1,078 per month. Thus, after paying for living expenses, there is generally plenty left over to save and/or spend on other things. Coming in second place in the ranking is Huntsville, Alabama, where around 20.43% of household income is required for living expenses, the median price of a home is $245,381 and the median cost of rent is only $1,226 each month. Another affordable place to live in America is #3 Wichita, Kansas, where living expenses cost approximately 22.28% of household income, the median price of a home is $173,799 and the median cost of rent is $1,097 per month. To read more, click here!

February 2024 was another healthy month for hiring as employers filled 275,000 jobs in the USA. This was substantially more than the impressive 229,000 US jobs that were created in January. During the past three months, American employers have been hiring an average of 265,000 workers per month as they try to satisfy strong consumer demand. The average increase in wages earned by people working in the USA has remained higher than the rate of inflation for over 12 months, resulting in more money for American consumers to spend. The business sectors that produced the most US jobs in February included healthcare (67,000), government (52,000), bars and restaurants (42,000), construction (23,000) and retail (19,000). Furthermore, February was the 25th month in a row that the country’s unemployment rate remained below 4 percent, which is the longest stretch in six decades. Nonetheless, workers are still needed to fill around 8.9 million US job vacancies that are currently available. To read more, click here!

US jobs in the technology sector are growing faster than the average growth rate that is projected for other occupations in the United States. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics is forecasting the creation of approximately 377,500 technology jobs in America each year during the 2022-2032 time period. Technology jobs in the USA generally pay high salaries, however, some states have higher salaries compared with what workers earn in other states. For example, technology professionals working in California earn an average yearly salary of $143,670, compared with $129,870 in Washington state; $119,601 in the District of Columbia; $118,510 in Massachusetts; $118,100 in Virginia; $117,500 in Maryland; $117,170 in New York; $116,620 in Colorado; $114,360 in New Jersey; and $110,400 in Rhode Island. The top states with the highest percentage of people working in the US tech field include the District of Columbia (7.06 percent), Virginia (6.24 percent), Washington (6.00 percent), and Maryland (5.37 percent). Although most of the people working in the US technology industry are males, states with highest percentage of female tech workers include Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota, North Dakota, Vermont, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, Louisiana, and Kentucky. To read more, click here!

According to a January 2024 report by the Migration Policy Institute, more than 4.7 million immigrants from Europe live in the USA. Among the top European countries of origin for immigrants living in the US are the United Kingdom (677,000), Germany (537,000), Ukraine (427,000), Russia (398,000), Poland (374,000), Italy (295,000), France (182,000), Portugal (160,000), Romania (158,000), and Spain (126,000) – among others. The states with the most European immigrants living in the USA include New York, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas. Major metropolitan areas with the most immigrants from Europe include #1 New York City-Newark-Jersey City with 864,000 European immigrants; #2 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (360,000); #3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (224,000); #4 Boston-Cambridge-Newton (156,000); and #5 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach with 143,000 immigrants from Europe. In regards to US employment, around 55% of European immigrants 16 years of age or older work in the Business, Management, Science or Arts sectors; 16% in Sales or Office jobs; 12% for Service Organizations; 10% in Material Moving, Transportation or Production occupations; and 7% in Construction, Natural Resources or Maintenance jobs. Immigrants from Europe who live in the United States generally earn higher median household incomes ($86,000) than people born in the USA or other immigrants ($75,000). To read more, click here!

The American economy is growing much faster than other advanced economies, according to recent data. During the third quarter of 2023, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States soared by an impressive 4.9% annualized rate. By comparison, the 20 Eurozone countries only had a collective annualized GDP growth rate of 0.1 percent, while the British economy increased GDP at an annualized rate of just 0.2 percent and Japan’s GDP actually decreased by 2.1 percent. The US economy also ended the fourth quarter of 2023 with a robust annualized GDP growth rate of 3.3 percent. One of the key reasons that the US economy is enjoying such robust growth is because of sustained spending by American consumers. To read more, click here!

A report released by the Pew Research Center on September 28, 2023, reveals that the overall population of Hispanic immigrants living in the USA is growing. According to the report, there were 19.9 million Hispanic immigrants living in the US during 2021, making up 31.8% of the entire Hispanic population of the United States. Furthermore, there has been an increase of Hispanic immigrants living in the USA over five years, rising from 15.9 million in 2010 to 17.3 million in 2021. Mexicans account for 54% of Hispanic immigrants living in the US and 24% of the overall immigrant population of the United States. In regards to recent Hispanic immigration to the US, 34% were from Mexico, while an additional 36% were from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras or Venezuela. The research found that 27.9 years was the median age for recent Hispanic immigrants moving to the USA, however, there were big differences among the countries. For example, the median age for Guatemalans recently moving to the US was 21.9 years, for Hondurans it was 22.4 years and for Salvadorans it was 23.5 years; whereas for Colombians it was 32.1 years, for Peruvians it was 35.3 years, for Venezuelans it was 36.0 years and for Cubans it was 36.3 years. By comparison, the median age for Mexicans recently moving to the USA was 28.2 years. The education levels of recent Hispanic immigrants living in the US has increased significantly over the past two decades. In 2021, 27% of recent Hispanic immigrants 25 years of age or older living in the US had a bachelor’s degree or higher credential, compared with only 11% in 2000. To read more, click here!

The cost of living in the USA is greatly affected by where a person lives in the US. It is also influenced by how many people are in the household and other factors. A recent study reported the median yearly salaries that a single person would need to live in each of the 50 states. As you might imagine, some states are more expensive places to live in the USA, while others are less expensive. This information could be useful for immigrants when planning on where to live and work in the US. The states with the highest median annual salary requirements for a single person include Hawaii ($112,411), Massachusetts ($87,909), California ($80,013), New York ($73,226), Alaska ($71,570), Maryland ($67,915), Vermont ($65,923) and Washington ($65,640). As you can see, it will cost you to live in the US tropical paradise of Hawaii, since almost everything has to be shipped to these remote islands and there is limited real estate available. There is, however, a lower cost of living in the US Midwest and South. For example, the median yearly salary that a single person needs to live in the Midwest state of Oklahoma is only $46,024; in Kansas it is $47,379; in Missouri it is $47,771; in Iowa it is $48,518; in Indiana it is $49,855 and in Illinois it is $49,372. A single individual who wants to live in the South would require a median annual salary of $45,906 in Mississippi; $46,577 in Alabama; $47,111 in Arkansas; $48,774 in Tennessee and $49,051 in Georgia. To read more, click here!

According to a recent report by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), H-1B Work Visa holders who work in the computer technology sector earned an average salary of $129,000 USD in 2022. The USCIS report also revealed that the average salaries for H-1B Work Visa holders employed in the computer technology sector increased by 23% from 2018 to 2022. Research shows that foreign professionals with an H-1B Work Visa generally earn the same or more than American workers in the same occupations. During Fiscal Year 2022 (FY-2022), the USCIS approved 442,043 H-1B Work Visa petitions out of the 474,301 that were filed, of which 291,780 of the approved petitions were for skilled foreign workers in the computer technology sector (66% of the total). Skilled foreign workers in the architecture, engineering and surveying sector had the second largest number of H-1B Work Visa petitions approved in FY-2022 (43,351), followed by administrative specializations (23,022); education (10,980); medicine and health (10,229); life sciences (7,918); mathematics and physical sciences (7,904); managers and officials (5,944); miscellaneous professional, technical and managerial (5,189); art (2,160); social sciences (1,884); and law (799). The highest level of education in FY-2022 for skilled foreign workers with an approved H-1B Work Visa petition were as follows: 31.7% held a bachelor’s degree, 31.1% held a master’s degree, 7.6% held a doctorate degree, and 3.1% held a professional degree (26% had an “unknown education level”). Countries of origin for the most H-1B Work Visa petition approvals in FY-2022 were: #1 India, #2 China, #3 Canada, #4 South Korea, #5 Philippines, #6 Mexico, #7 Taiwan, #8 Brazil, #9 Pakistan and #10 Nepal. To read more, click here!