Source: Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2008. Available at http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/publications/LPR08.shtm.

Further reading:
Refugees and Asylees in the United States
By Jeanne Batalova
In 2008, the United States raised the ceiling on refugee admission by 10,000, admitted more than 60,000 refugees for resettlement, and granted asylum to nearly 23,000 people. Nationals of Burma, Iraq, and Bhutan represented 62.0 percent of all refugee admissions in 2008. According to the Department of State, the United States expects to accept at least 17,000 Iraqis, 12,000 Bhutanese, and 5,500 Iranians in 2009. Of the nearly 50,000 Iraqi refugees admitted in the United States between 1991 and 2008, 29 percent (about 14,000) arrived in 2008.

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