In sociology, people who permanently resettle to a new country are considered immigrants, regardless of the legal status of their citizenship or residency. The United States Census Bureau uses the term "generational status" to refer to the place of birth of an individual or an individual's parents.

What is considered 1st generation?

“First generation” or “foreign born” refers to people born outside of the United States to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. For this report, people born in Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories are not considered foreign born.

What is first generation vs second generation?

The first generation refers to those who are foreign born. The second generation refers to those with at least one foreign-born parent. The third-and-higher generation includes those with two U.S. native parents.