22% growth in Brazilian interest in living and working in the US | Lighthouse

The number of Brazilians who want to live and work in the United States (US) continues to grow. That’s what a survey conducted by AG Immigration Law Firm, along with information obtained from the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, suggests. The numbers reveal that 23,596 citizens of Brazil received a U.S. permanent residency document – ​​known as a green card – in 2022: a 28.5% increase over the previous year and the highest number on record. With this, Brazil is the ninth most documented country. Mexico (138 thousand), India (125 thousand), China (68 thousand), Dominican Republic (39 thousand) and Philippines (36 thousand) lead the ranking.

According to AG Immigration CEO Rodrigo Costa, the data reinforces the brain drain movement already seen in Brazil in recent years. “The three largest annual volumes of green card issuance have been accurately recorded from 2019 to now,” he explained. “It is now unlikely that a new record will be broken in 2023.”

In the executive’s assessment, the phenomenon of brain drain is explained by two main reasons: the labor shortage in the United States, which raises wages and encourages the hiring of immigrants, and the political and economic deterioration of Brazil over the past decade. Often provoking a feeling of hopelessness among the population”. Brazilians were issued the highest number of green cards in 2019 (19.8 thousand).

The survey also revealed that the number of Brazilians who will become US citizens by 2022 has also broken a record. In total, there are 12,983 residents, a slight increase of 5.7% over the 12,448 in 2021 – until then, a historic high. For example, Brazil is the 19th country to receive US citizenship, following Mexico (127 thousand), India (64 thousand), Colombia (17 thousand), Iran (14 thousand) and Bangladesh (13 thousand).