Description

YRIMMIG reports the year in which a person born outside the United States "came to the U.S. to stay."

User Note: There are significant comparability issues in this variable after 1991. Please see the Comparability section for details.

Comparability

The earliest date identified in these data is "before 1950." Other codes cover a ten-year period (1950-1959), five-year periods between 1960 and 1979, two-year periods for the time between 1980 and 1991, and varying periods (of two years, three years, and four years) thereafter. The specific years grouped together for the period after 1991 differ over time. For example, the 2001 survey combined the years 1998 to 2001, while the 2002 survey provided separate codes for 1998-1999 and 2000-2002. Comparability across the survey period can be achieved by combining data on recent immigrants into a single "after 1991" classification and using the codes provided for the period between 1950 and 1991. Alternatively, the four-digit code can be interpreted as the latest year in which a respondent could possibly have immigrated, since the codes represent the final year in each interval.

Comparability with IPUMS-USA

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables

• UH_INUSYR_A1
• UH_INUSYR_B1