Remittance Behavior of US Immigrants

Remittances, the sending of a portion of an immigrant’s income to friends and family, have become an undeniable and significant part of the global economy. This is especially true in some common immigrant sending regions where remittances make up a dominant portion of the local economy. The New Immigrant Survey has released the second wave of data in its cohort study of immigrants recently achieving Lawful Permanent Residence status in the United States. In light of this newly available information, this study seeks to highlight demographic and background characteristics of immigrants that have a statistically significant relationship on their sending of remittances. Moreover, the results from both waves of data are compared to answer the questions "what type of immigrant tends to remit more over time?" and "what type of immigrant tends to remit less over time?" Several variables emerge as significant predictors of the sending of remittances, including age, sex, income, education, region of origin, and others, and their differential effects on the sending of remittances provide new insight on the contemporary US immigrant experience. Results from this study may prove useful for policy makers looking to create targeted programs with the aim of using remittances as a tool for development, both for the immigrant community in the US and for immigrant sending regions abroad.