The Nineties in America - Salem Press (2009)

of visas were distinguished—employment-based,
family-sponsored, and a new category called “diver-
sity visas”—and each had numerical restrictions.
The maximum number of the first two categories
was raised to 26,620 per country compared to 20,000
annually under the 1965 law.
The total number of annual visas based on speci-
fied occupational categories was increased from
54,000 to 140,000 under the 1990 act, and a larger pro-
portion were allocated for skilled workers. Family-
sponsored visas were limited to 480,000 for relatives
of both U.S. citizens and “legal permanent resident
aliens.” Parents, spouses, and minor children of U.S.
citizens were included in that number, and, since
there was no numerical restriction for these immedi-
ate relatives, a minimum of 226,000 visas was estab-
lished for other family members. Therefore, if more
than 254,000 immediate family members of U.S. citi-
zens applied for visas, the total number would be in-
creased.
Diversity visas were created to provide additional
visas to countries that had received relatively few in
the past. The 1965 law was designed to address
racial/ethnic discrimination, but its “family reuni-
fication” provisions still favored countries that had
received the most visas in the past. The 1990 act
provided for 55,000 visas to be issued to countries
that had received fewer than 50,000 visas during
the previous five years. Each of these countries was
limited to 7 percent of the total, or 3,850 diversity vi-
sas. Lotteries were to be held to determine which
applicants would receive the visas. Qualified appli-
cants had to have worked at a skilled occupation for
two years or more and have at least a high school ed-
ucation.

Impact Since October, 1991, both family-based
and employment-based annual immigration has in-
creased significantly, the latter showing the greater
increases, with a larger proportion of professional
and technical workers. Immigrant flows have be-
come more racially/ethnically diverse because of
the increase of per-country visa allocations, diversity
visas, and an important change regarding family-
sponsored visas. Under the 1990 act, visas for the
family members of legal permanent resident aliens
were given a high priority, the number of visas for
their spouses and minor children was significantly
increased, and three-fourths of these visas were ex-
empted from countries’ total limits. Research has

shown that changes in the number and diversity of

immigrants since 1990 would have been much less

pronounced if the 1965 law had remained in effect.

Further Reading

DeLaet, Debra L.U.S. Immigration Policy in an Age of

Rights. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000.

Tichenor, Daniel J.Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immi-

gration Control in America. Princeton, N.J.: Prince-

ton University Press, 2002.

Jack Carter

See also Canada and the United States; China and

the United States; Employment in the United States;

Foreign policy of the United States; Illegal immigra-

tion; Immigration to the United States; Income and

wages in the United States; Mexico and the United

States; Race relations.

 Immigration to Canada

Definition Migration into Canada by people who

are citizens of other countries

In the 1990’s, Canada had the highest per capita immigra-

tion rate in the world, and immigration was the primar y dy-

namic in the growth of Canada’s population and labor

force. Immigration rates climbed during the decade, so that

immigration accounted for about 60 percent of total popu-

lation growth by the end of the decade.

During the 1990’s, the largest immigrant streams

came to Canada from the developing countries, es-

pecially those in Asia—namely, China, India, Paki-

stan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Throughout

Canada’s history, its immigration policy has been

tied closely to economic conditions, ethnic back-

ground, and humanitarian concerns. Beginning in

the early twentieth century, Canada’s immigration

was adjusted each year according to the country’s

short-term economic indicators—in other words,

calculated by the absorptive capacity model. In the

late 1980’s, that model was replaced with a “fixed-

target” policy, which meant the Canadian govern-

ment could set immigration levels independent of

economic conditions, ignoring labor conditions

and economic growth rates. Immigration declined

in the 1980’s in response to a sagging economy but

increased through the 1990’s as a result of the new

target policy. Immigration averaged 190,000 annu-

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Immigration to Canada The Nineties in America