Florida overtook California as the leading destination for new green card holders in 2024, as the number of people obtaining permanent U.S. residency climbed to its highest level in a decade.
A total of 1.36 million people obtained lawful permanent resident status nationwide in fiscal 2024, according to data from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics based on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services records. That was up from 1.17 million in 2023 and was the highest figure in the 2015-2024 table.
Newsweek has created a map showing the number of people who obtained lawful permanent resident status in each state in 2024.
What The Data Shows
Florida recorded 219,470 new lawful permanent residents in 2024, narrowly exceeding California's 217,420. Texas ranked third with 160,400, followed by New York with 136,750.
The figures predate a series of moves by the Trump administration to tighten scrutiny of legal immigration, including pathways to permanent residency.
New Jersey recorded 58,180 new lawful permanent residents, while Illinois had 44,650, Virginia 37,850, Massachusetts 36,180, Georgia 35,100 and Pennsylvania 34,850.
At the other end of the spectrum, Wyoming recorded 510, Vermont 630, and Montana 650. Alaska had 1,100, and South Dakota recorded 1,070.
Several states experienced particularly large increases from 2023 to 2024. Florida's total rose by 63,970, or about 41 percent, from 155,500. Texas increased by 33,470, or about 26 percent, from 126,930. Kentucky rose from 7,830 to 12,120, an increase of about 55 percent.
California's total increased more modestly, from 205,040 in 2023 to 217,420 in 2024. New York rose from 127,980 to 136,750.
The state figures represent where people lived after obtaining lawful permanent resident status, rather than necessarily showing where they first entered the United States. The federal data also cover people who became permanent residents through adjustment of status while already in the country.
Trump Crackdown On Legal Immigration
It comes as the Trump administration increases scrutiny of legal immigration, with more recent federal data showing approval rates falling in several major categories.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data for April through June 2026 showed the approval rate among decided green card applications fell 2.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. The rate for family-based cases dropped from 86 percent to 81.7 percent, while employment-based cases slipped from 93.9 percent to 93 percent.
The steepest decline was among Cuban applicants. Of 586 cases decided during the quarter, 139 were approved and 447 denied, an approval rate of 23.7 percent. That was down from 52.6 percent in the previous quarter.
The figures come as the administration has made changes to the legal immigration system and increased scrutiny of applications. In May, USCIS issued guidance emphasizing that adjustment of status is discretionary and saying people temporarily in the United States who seek permanent residency should generally apply through the consular process abroad, except in extraordinary circumstances.
On October 8, the Labor Department suspended Microsoft and Adobe from the PERM program, a key step in the process employers use to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. The department said it would stop accepting new applications and processing pending cases involving the companies.
Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft, pointing to roughly 6,000 layoffs while citing about 6,300 H-1B approvals and nearly 3,000 green cards. Microsoft disputed the suggestion that its immigration filings represented replacements for laid-off workers, saying most involved existing employees.
Microsoft President Brad Smith later called the administration's characterization "completely off base," saying many of the employees seeking green cards had already worked at Microsoft for years.
The administration has also faced challenges in court. A federal judge ordered the State Department on October 14 to open registration for the delayed 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, which provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Lottery winners must still meet immigration requirements before receiving a visa.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Emma Lee-Sang