新移民来自哪里？

今天，美国人数最多的新移民来自中国和印度。原因之一是，美国在1965年修改了原来倾向北欧和西欧移居美国的移民法。

另一个原因是教育。随着亚洲国家人均收入水平提高，更多亚洲年轻人选择到美国大学读书。皮尤中心指出，今天的亚洲移民是美国有史以来受教育水平最高的移民群体。1990年生效的一个签证项目为技术人材开辟了新机会，尤其是使中国、菲律宾、印度、越南、大韩民国和日本等国人能够基于就业获得绿卡。持绿卡意味着获得永久居住权，并且日后可以申请成为公民。

许多亚洲移民非常喜欢他们新国家中的创业精神，他们以比过去其他地区移民都快的速度开始创业经营。

来自印度的约根·卡帕迪亚（Yogen Kapadia）便是其中一例。他在美国获得计算机学硕士学位后，进入加州硅谷（California’s Silicon Valley）的一些高科技公司做事。他说，“硅谷打破一切偏见，培养的是创新所需要的唯一一个素质：头脑开放”。卡帕迪亚选择留在这里，当美国公民。2011年，他创办了自己的公司，发誓将“革新”网上文件管理。

不是所有新移民都创办公司。无论有什么样的梦想，有些人会取得巨大成功，有些人会步履艰辛。但是，所有人都将享有每一个美国人拥有的自由，并且都会为美国最古老的史册增添新的篇章。

It’s the oldest of stories. Even before the United States became an independent nation, waves of immigrants helped the nation grow and enriched an American identity grounded not in blood ties but in a common understanding of life as a free people. At first the new faces arrived from different parts of England and then from Germany. Many more followed, from Ireland and from southern and eastern Europe. More recently, immigrants from Mexico and other parts of Latin America predominated. Over time, and for many reasons, one immigrant wave slows but another grows.

A new Pew Research Center study makes these predictions about future Americans:

• There will be more of them, 36 percent more, or 441 million, by 2065.
• Immigrants and their offspring will account for 88 percent of that increase.
• By 2055 there will be no racial or ethnic majority group. Whites will be 46 percent of the population, as opposed to 62 percent today.
• The number of Mexicans and other Hispanics coming to the U.S. is slowing.
• At the same time, the number of Asian Americans is rising sharply. Since 2011, Asia has been the largest source of new immigrants. By 2065, Pew projects 14 percent of Americans will be of Asian origin.

Who are the newcomers?

Today more new Americans arrive from China and India than anywhere else. In part that’s because the immigration laws were changed in 1965 to end a quota system that favored northern and western Europeans.

Another factor is education. As incomes rise in Asian nations, more young Asians choose to attend American universities. Today’s Asian immigrants, says Pew, are the most highly educated immigrant group in U.S. history. A visa program enacted in 1990 created new opportunities for skilled workers. Immigrants from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and Japan in particular have obtained employment-based green cards, which confer permanent-resident status and the opportunity to obtain citizenship.

Many Asian immigrants have embraced their new nation’s entrepreneurial spirit, starting and running businesses at a faster clip than most previous groups.

Indian native Yogen Kapadia followed this path. After earning a U.S. master’s degree in computer science, Kapadia worked for high-tech companies in California’s Silicon Valley. “The Valley breaks all prejudices and nurtures only the singular thing that innovation needs: an open mind,” he says. He chose to stay, and to become an American citizen. In 2011 Kapadia launched his own business, and he promises it will “revolutionize” online document management.

Not every newcomer will run a business. Some willsucceed greatly, whatever their dreams; others will struggle. But all will enjoy the liberties that belong to every American, and all will contribute new chapters to America’s oldest story.