17,717 2nd Pref. There is no theoretical limit to the number of legal immigrants admitted annually, because the category of immediate relatives is unlimited. The immediate relatives category includes unmarried minor children, spouses, and parents of U.S. citizens. Relatives accounted for 72 percent of immigration in 1998. Half of all employment-based visas go not to workers, but to their accompanying dependent relatives.
Refugees apply from abroad and are subject to a numerical limit.
There is no limit to how many may apply or be granted asylum, but there is an cap on the number converted to permanent residence each year. Many more people apply for asylum than receive it. Many of these claims are from illegal aliens who simply seek to avoid deportation. These special programs operate outside the core immigration programs mentioned above. The net increase to the U.S. population each year from the settlers is estimated by the INS to be about 275,000 a year.