According to a recent report by the Census Bureau, one out of every five married couples in the United States has a foreign born spouse. Western and the mid-Atlantic states are found to have the highest number of foreign-born spouses. This number is growing and is likely to grow, as more foreigners are immigrating to the United States. The number of foreign-born Americans in America has increased from 14.1 million to 40 million between 1980 and 2010.
Immigrant population in the United States is rapidly growing. This is giving the Americans a chance to meet and get married to people who are not US citizens, according to the Chief of the Census Bureau’s Foreign-Born Population Branch, Elizabeth Grieco.
Around 61 percent of the foreign-born spouses of US citizens have so far obtained US citizenship. 39 percent of them are non US citizens who hold Green Cards. According to USA Today, the current immigration trends have led to the increase in the number of foreigners in the United States.
Nevada, District of Columbia, Hawaii and California are the states that have a higher percentage of US citizens with foreign-born spouses. 12 percentage of all the married households in these states include at least one US citizen spouse and one foreign-born spouse. The states with the lowest percentage of foreign-born spouses are South Dakota, West Virginia and Mississippi. Most of the foreign-born spouses in America are from the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Many foreigners who settle in the United States easily meet US citizens and get married to them. At the same time, some are having a tougher time. Edgar Falcon from Texas married Maricruz Valtierra, a Mexican in August. Falcon’s wife is now unable to return to the United States. This is because of the attempt she made to get into the country when she was a minor. Falcon and many others who are facing similar difficulties are urging their representatives to propose a legislation that would solves their problems.