Heath Status of U.S. Immigrants and the Process of Becoming a Legal Permanent Resident Alien

Abstract

Using the first round of the 2003 cohort of the New Immigrant Survey, a nationally representative sample of new legal immigrants to the United States, we investigate the relationship between the process of becoming a legal permanent resident alien (the process of obtaining a green card) and the self-reported health status of U.S immigrants. Results from ordered-logitistic regressions indicate that immigrants who felt sad, blue or depressed because of the process of becoming a legal permanent resident in the U.S. were more likely to report a lower health status.