Hoipe this is helpul to some- The USCIS released its The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, providing the latest immigration data for FY 2003. Highlights for 2003 include: Legal immigration in 2003 (705,827) was lower than in 2002 (1,063,732). Thirty-six percent of all immigrants were born in North America (16 percent in Mexico) and 35 percent were born in Asia. Sixty-three percent of all immigrants intended to reside in six states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois. Nearly one of five immigrants intended to reside in New York City or Los Angeles. Refugee arrivals increased in 2003 by 5 percent to 28,306 after declining by 61 percent from 2001 to 2002. USCIS Asylum Officers approved 29 percent of asylum cases adjudicated in 2003. Total nonimmigrant admissions in 2003 (27.8 million) decreased by .2 percent from 2002 (27.9 million). Half were from four countries ý the United Kingdom (16.3 percent), Mexico (15.5), Japan (12.9), and Germany (5.2). The DHS naturalized 463,204 persons in fiscal year 2003; forty-two percent were born in Asian countries, followed by 28 percent from North American countries. California was the intended residence of 29 percent of persons naturalizing, followed by New York with 14 percent. The number of deportable aliens located during 2003 declined 1.5 percent to 1.0 million. The number of removals increased almost 24 percent to more than 186,000. More than 79,000 criminal aliens were removed; Mexico led all countries of nationality with more than 62,500 (79 percent).