Although six out of 10 foreign-born residents of the United States came into the country through six "gateway" states between 1995 and 2000, they often moved to other states.

During the five-year period, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data, three of the gateway states -- New York, California and Illinois -- saw a considerable number of their foreign-born populations leave for other places.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of what's known as "secondary migration" were North Carolina, which gained 76,000 foreign residents, and Nevada, which added 73,000. Indeed, the Silver State added more foreign-born residents who came from other states and it did those who came from abroad.

The presence of foreign-born people outside the traditional entry points shows that "opportunities abound throughout the country," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.

The other three gateway states are Florida, New Jersey and Texas.

Overall, Census found that America now has 33 million residents who are natives of other countries. About 52 percent are from Latin America, 27 percent from Asia and 15 percent from Europe.

Among the states, California ranks first in the proportion of its population who were born outside U.S. borders.

Almost 27 percent of California's population is foreign-born, followed by 21 percent of New York's, 19 percent of New Jersey's and 18 percent of Florida's and Hawaii's.

However, despite the inclination of foreigners to move elsewhere after they enter the United States, all but two of the 10 counties with the largest foreign-born populations -- Miami-Dade, Fla., and Hudson, N.J. -- are located in either California and New York.

Among other things, the Census figures also reveal that:

Published: October 2, 2003

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