The Department of Homeland Security recently released the "Legal Immigration and Adjustment of Status Report" for the first quarter of FY 2018. This dataset contains information on the number of individuals attaining lawful permanent resident status per quarter.
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| Adjustments | New Arrivals |
Total | Percent Change |
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| Q1 2017 | 137,947 | 150,916 | 288,863 | n/a |
| Q2 2017 | 132,987 | 139,768 | 272,755 | -5.60% |
| Q3 2017 | 141,883 | 144,175 | 286,058 | 4.90% |
| Q4 2017 | 137,872 | 142,646 | 280,518 | -1.90% |
| Q1 2018 | 140,449 | 123,539 | 263,988 | -5.90% |
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Individuals Obtaining LPRs per Quarter Q1 2017 to Q1 2018 |
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The table and figure above show that the general trend of LPR issuance has not drastically changed between October 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017. This period roughly covers the last three months of the Obama administration and the first calendar year of the Trump administration.
The total number of new green cards in Q1 FY 2018 is 8.6 percent less than the same total a year before, in Q1 FY 2017. The first quarter data shows that numbers were down from the preceding quarter by 5.9 percent.
The first quarter of FY 2018 reverses the FY2017 trend of new arrivals outnumbering status adjustments. In fact, new arrivals dipped noticeably between Q4 2017 and Q1 2018, whereas status adjustments grew slightly.
In previous years, the numerical difference between status adjusters and new arrivals was small. In FY 2014 and 2015, status adjusters were responsible for over half of green card issuance, whereas in 2016 and 2017 new arrivals made up the majority.
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| Adjustment of Status |
New Arrivals |
Total | Adjusters – Share of Total |
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| 2017 | 550,689 | 577,505 | 1,128,194 | 48.80% |
| 2016 | 565,427 | 618,078 | 1,183,505 | 47.80% |
| 2015 | 542,315 | 508,716 | 1,051,031 | 51.60% |
| 2014 | 535,126 | 481,392 | 1,016,518 | 52.60% |
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One quarter's worth of data is not enough to draw conclusions about the remaining nine months in any fiscal year. However, reports indicate that the Trump administration may publish a proposal that would bar individuals on green cards (and future applicants) from naturalization if they or their dependents used certain social safety net programs. If implemented, this policy change would almost certainly reduce the total number of green cards in any long-term projection.