Data Dictionary: ACS 2009 (1-Year Estimates)
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Data Source:U.S. Census Bureau
Table: B05005. Year of Entry by Citizenship Status in the United States [21]
Universe: Population born outside the United States
Table Details
B05005. Year of Entry by Citizenship Status in the United States
Universe: Population born outside the United States
VariableLabel
B05005001
B05005002
B05005003
B05005004
B05005005
B05005006
B05005007
B05005008
B05005009
B05005010
B05005011
B05005012
B05005013
B05005014
B05005015
B05005016
B05005017
B05005018
B05005019
B05005020
B05005021
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2009 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
 
Year of Entry
The data on year of entry were derived from answers to Question 9. This question was asked about Persons 1 through 5 in the ACS, and was restricted to those persons who on Question 8 answered that they were in citizenship categories (2) born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas, (3) born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents, (4) U.S. citizen by naturalization, or (5) not a U.S citizen. All respondents born outside the United States were asked for the year in which they came to live in the United States. This includes people born in Puerto Rico and U.S. Island Areas; people born abroad of an U.S. citizen parent or parents; and the foreign born. (See Citizenship Status.) For the Puerto Rico Community Survey, respondents were asked for the year in which they came to live in Puerto Rico. The responses to this question indicate when persons born outside of the U.S. came to live in the United States.

Question/Concept History
Since 1996, the year of entry questions for the American Community Survey and for the Puerto Rico Survey were identical. An instruction was added beginning in 1999 to "Print numbers in boxes."

Limitation of the Data
Respondents were directed to indicate the year they entered the U.S. "to live." (or "to live" in Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Community Survey). For respondents who entered the U.S. (or entered Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Community Survey) multiple times, the interviewers were instructed to request the most recent year of entry. For respondents who entered multiple times and did not ask the interviewer for clarification or who mailed back the questionnaire without being interviewed in person, it is unclear which year of entry was provided (i.e. first or most recent). Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have year of entry distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the year of entry distribution. This is particularly true for areas with substantial GQ populations.

Comparability
Year of entry was comparable across ACS years. A note of caution when comparing ACS and Census 2000 year of entry data: Census 2000 represents data collected as of April 1, 2000 and thus the "2000" year of entry category accounts only for the first quarter (Jan-Mar) in 2000. In comparison, the ACS represents data collected throughout the entire year and thus the "2000" year of entry category accounts for the entire year of 2000. Derived Measures Census data products include various derived measures, such as medians, means, and percentages, as well as certain rates and ratios. Most derived measures that round to less than 0.1 are shown as zero.


Citizenship Status (U.S. Citizenship Status)
The data on citizenship status were derived from answers to Question 8. This question was asked about person's 1 through 5 in the ACS.

Respondents were asked to select one of five categories: (1) born in the United States, (2) born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas, (3) born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents, (4) U.S. citizen by naturalization, or (5) not a U.S citizen. Respondents indicating they are a U.S. citizen by naturalization are also asked to print their year of naturalization. People born in American Samoa, although not explicitly listed, are included in the second response category.

For the Puerto Rico Community Survey, respondents were asked to select one of five categories: (1) born in Puerto Rico, (2) born in a U.S. state, District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas, (3) born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents, (4) U.S. citizen by naturalization, or (5) not a U.S. citizen. Respondents indicating they are a U.S. citizen by naturalization are also asked to print their year of naturalization. People born in American Samoa, although not explicitly listed, are included in the second response category.

When no information on citizenship status was reported for a person, information for other household members, if available, was used to assign a citizenship status to the respondent. All cases of nonresponse that were not assigned a citizenship status based on information from other household members were allocated the citizenship status of another person with similar characteristics who provided complete information. In cases of conflicting responses, place of birth information is used to edit citizenship status. For example, if a respondent states he or she was born in Puerto Rico but was not a U.S. citizen, the edits use the response to the place of birth question to change the respondents status to "U.S. citizen at birth."

U.S. Citizen
Respondents who indicated that they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (such as Guam), or abroad of American (U.S. citizen) parent or parents are considered U.S. citizens at birth. Foreign-born people who indicated that they were U.S. citizens through naturalization also are considered U.S. citizens.

Not a U.S. Citizen
Respondents who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens at the time of the survey.

The native population includes anyone who was a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national at birth. This includes respondents who indicated they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (such as Guam), or abroad of American (U.S. citizen) parent or parents.

Foreign born
The foreign-born population includes anyone who was not a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national at birth. This includes respondents who indicated they were a U.S. citizen by naturalization or not a U.S. citizen. The American Community Survey questionnaires do not ask about immigration status. The population surveyed includes all people who indicated that the United States was their usual place of residence on the survey date. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e. immigrants), temporary migrants (e.g., foreign students), humanitarian migrants (e.g., refugees), and unauthorized migrants (i.e. people illegally present in the United States). The responses to this question are used to determine the U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen populations as well as to determine the native and foreign-born populations.

Question/Concept History
In the 1996-1998 American Community Survey, the third response category was "Yes, born abroad of American parent(s)." However, since 1999 in the American Community Survey and since the 2005 Puerto Rico Community Survey, the response category was "Yes, born abroad of American parent or parents." In 2008, respondents who indicated that they were a U.S. citizen by naturalization were also asked to print their year of naturalization. Also in 2008, modifications in wording were made to both the third response category (changed from "Yes, born abroad of American parent or parents" to "Yes, born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents") and the fifth response category (changed from "No, not a citizen of the United States" to "No, not a U.S. citizen").

Limitation of the Data
Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have citizenship status distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the citizenship status distribution. This is particularly true for areas with substantial GQ populations.

Comparability
Citizenship can be compared both across ACS years and to Census 2000 data.

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