African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, the African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.
Africans in the United States come from almost all regions in Africa and do not constitute a homogeneous group. They include peoples from different national, linguistic, ethnic, racial, cultural and social backgrounds.David E. Kyoso, Immigrants in the United States, (Godfrey Mwakikagile: 2010), p. 110. U.S. and foreign born Africans are different and distinct from native-born African Americans, many of whose ancestors were involuntarily brought from West Africa to the colonial United States by means of the historic Atlantic slave trade. African immigration is now driving the growth of the Black population in New York City.
Immigration legislation Citizenship In the 1870s, the Naturalization Act was extended to allow "aliens, being free white persons and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent" to acquire citizenship. Immigration from Africa was theoretically permitted, unlike non-white immigration from Asia.
Quotas enacted between 1921 and 1924 Several laws enforcing national origins quotas on U.S. immigration were enacted between 1921 and 1924 and were in effect until they were repealed in 1965. While the laws were aimed at restricting the immigration of Jews and Catholics from Southern and Eastern Europe and immigration from Asia, they also impacted African immigrants. The legislation effectively excluded Africans from entering the country.
The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 restricted immigration from a given country to 3% of the number of people from that country living in the U.S. according to the census of 1910. The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act, reduced that to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the U.S. in 1890. Under the system, the quota for immigrants from Africa (excluding Egypt) totaled 1,100 (the number was increased to 1,400 under the 1952 McCarran–Walter Act.)[Bashi, V. (2004, July 4). Globalizing Anti-Blackness: Transnationalzing Western Immigration law, policy and practice. Retrieved May 1, 2010, from Ethnic and Racial Studies: http://www.arts.yorku.ca/soci/goldring/4390/readings/pdf/bashi_globalized_anti-blackness.pdf] That contrasted to immigrants from Germany, which had a limit of 51,227.George Mason University. (1998). Who was Shut Out?: Immigration Quotas, 1925-1927. Retrieved May 1, 2010, from History Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5078/
Repeal of quotas The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, repealed the national quotas and subsequently there was a substantial increase in the number of immigrants from developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. This act also provided a separate category for refugees. The act also provided greater opportunity for family reunification.
Diversity Immigrant Visa The Diversity Visa Program, or green card lottery, is a program created by the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows people born in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States to obtain a lawful permanent resident status. Each year, 50,000 of those visas are distributed at random. Almost 38% of those visas were attributed to African born immigrants in 2016. African born persons also represent the most numerous group among the applicants since 2013. The application is free of charge, and the requirements in terms of education are either a high school diploma or two years of a professional experience which requires at least two years of training.
Recent migration trends and factors
The continent of Africa has seen many changes in migrations patterns over the course of history.Collyer, Michael, ed. Emigration nations: Policies and ideologies of emigrant engagement. Springer, 2013. The graph below shows African immigration to the United States in 2016 based on class of admission with numbers from the Department of Homeland Security's Yearbook. The number of Black immigrants living in the United States reached 4.6 million in 2019, an increase from approximately 800,000 in 1980, and which accounted for 19% of the growth in the overall U.S. Black population. Close to 31% came to the U.S. between 2010 and 2019.
The influx of African immigrants began in the latter part of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "fourth great migration." About three-fourths of all out-migration from Africa went to the United States after 1990.Gambino, Christine P., Edward N. Trevelyan, and John Thomas Fitzwater. "The foreign-born population from Africa: 2008–2012." American Community Survey Briefs 5 (2014). This trend began after decolonization, as many Africans moved to the U.S. seeking an education and to escape poverty, and has risen steadily over time. The increase in the rate of migration is projected to continue for the coming decades.The Economist, March 28th 2020, page 6. Originally, these immigrants came with the sole purpose of advancing themselves before returning to their respective countries. Nevertheless, many immigrants never return. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of African immigrants interested in gaining permanent residence in the U.S.; this has led to a severe brain drain on the economies of African countries due to many skilled hard-working Africans leaving Africa to seek their economic fortunes in the U.S. and elsewhere.
One major factor that contributes to migration from Africa to the United States is labor opportunities. It has been relatively easier for African immigrants with advanced education to leave and enter international labor markets. In addition, many Africans move to the United States for advanced training. For example, doctors from different African nations would move to the U.S. in order to gain more economic opportunities compared to their home country.Hagopian, Amy, et al. "The migration of physicians from Africa to the United States of America: measures of the African brain drain." Human resources for health 2.1 (2004): 17. However, as more Africans emigrate to the United States, their reasoning and factors tend to become more complex.Thomas, Kevin JA. "What explains the increasing trend in African emigration to the US?." International Migration Review 45.1 (2011): 3-28.
Many Africans who migrate to the United States return their income to Africa in the source of remittances. In Nigeria, for example, remittances from Nigerians in the United States to Nigeria totaled to $6.1 billion in 2012, approximately 3% of Nigeria's GDP. The important role of remittances in improving the lives of family members in the United States has led to both migration and migrants remaining in the United States.
Following educational and economic trends of migration, family reunification has driven recent trends of migration. Family reunification refers to the ability of U.S. citizens to sponsor family members for immigration. Sponsoring immediate family members and other family preferences led to 45% and 10% of all African immigration in 2016 respectively. Legal service organizations such as the African Advocacy Network aid in family members sponsoring new immigrants to the United States.
Additionally, refugees make up a large class of admission to the United States. Recent crises in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Burundi have been sources of migrants in recent years. With recent restrictions on refugee entrance to the United States, refugees may face a harder time entering the United States.
White South African refugee program In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring the White Afrikaaner population oppressed people - in response to the 2024 Expropriation Act passed in South Africa, which allows confiscation of Afrikaner lands to redistribute to the black population. Trump declared that the US will be accepting Afrikaners as refugees.
President Trump also started the White South African refugee program, On May 12, 2025, the first group of 59 white South Africans arrived in Dulles in northern Virginia under the program. They were welcomed at Dulles International Airport by U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and were provided with resettlement assistance. According to the State Department, all spoke English, and about a third already had relatives in the United States. The refugee applications of the Afrikaner minority were expedited by the Trump administration, which cited "racial discrimination" as the justification for granting priority status.
On June 2, 2025, U.S. officials reported that a second group of 9 white South Africans arrived a few days prior.
African immigration ban
On June 4, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, restricting entry from Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan, as well as partially restricting entry from Sierra Leone and Togo.
Fully restricted
Partially restricted The order also partially bans travelers from the following countries, where citizens may only seek temporary work visas:
Population + African immigrants' (US) ancestries in the 2000 – 2010 American Community Survey (from more than 1,000 people)Ancestry20002010"African"1,183,3161,676,413) Algerian8,75214,716 Angolan1,642 Cameroonian8,09916,894 Cape Verdean77,10395,003 Congolese5,488 (only Democratic Republic of the Congo)11,009"Eastern Africans"2,129 Egyptian142,832197,000 Eritrean18,917 Ethiopian68,001 202,715 Gambian3,035 Ghanaian49,94491,322 Guinea3,016 Ivorian3,110 Kenyan17,33651,749 Liberian25,57551,296 Libyan2,979 Malian1,790 Moroccan38,923 82,073 Nigerian162,938264,550 "North African/Berber"4,544 ("North Africans": 3,217; "Berbers": 1,327) Rwandan 1,480 Senegalese6,12411,369 Sierra Leonean12,41016,929 Somali36,313120,102 South African44,99157,491 Sudanese14,45842,249 Tanzanian2,921 Togolese1,716 Tunisian4,735 Ugandan4,70712,549"Western African"6,810 Zambian1,500 Zimbabwean4,5217,323TOTALMore than 1,000,000NA
Demographics +Metros with largest African-born population (2010 Census)Metropolitan areaAfrican population% of total metro populationWashington, DC, MD-VA-WV171,0002.9Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN70,1001.3Atlanta, GA70,1001.3Boston, MA-NH61,6001.3Baltimore Area, MD33,1001.2New York, NY223,0001.1Dallas–Fort Worth, TX64,3000.9Houston, TX56,1000.9San Antonio, TX 68,1000.5Greater Los Angeles Area68,1000.5San Francisco Bay Area24,5000.5 The total immigrant population from Africa estimated for 2015-2019 was 2,256,700. The top counties were:
1) Harris County, TX ----------------------------- 70,200
2) Los Angeles County, CA ------------------- 59,900
3) Bronx Borough, NY --------------------------- 56,000
4) Montgomery County, MD ----------------- 54,700
5) Hennepin County, MN ---------------------- 53,700
6) Prince George's County, MD ------------- 53,000
7) Dallas County, TX ----------------------------- 46,700
8) King County, WA ------------------------------- 42,500
9) Cook County, IL -------------------------------- 42,100
10) Franklin County, OH ----------------------- 41,400
11) Fairfax County, VA -------------------------- 39,400
12) Tarrant County, TX ------------------------- 34,900
13) Brooklyn Borough, NY -------------------- 32,500
14) Gwinnett County, GA ---------------------- 26,800
15) Essex County, NJ --------------------------- 26,700
16) Suffolk County, Mass. -------------------- 25,000
17) Philadelphia County, PA ----------------- 25,000
18) Queens Borough, NY ---------------------- 24,700
19) DeKalb County, GA ------------------------- 24,500