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How many Australians currently live in the US, and California in particular? Of these, how many are estimated (or forecast) to return to Australia to each year to resettle permanently?
Greetings!
Thanks for your question regarding how many Australians currently live in the U.S. and California in particular. The short answer is that 93,864 Australians were living in the U.S. in 2013, 18,803 of which reside in California. Unfortunately, after many different search methods, these were the most recent hard figures that I was able to find. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
In order to provide you with the best possible, I searched extensively for the most recent data on Australians that reside in the U.S. As previously mentioned, one of the resources I found did completely answer the question about hard numbers, but it was from 2013 and that was unfortunately the most recent data publicly available. As a precaution, I made sure that these numbers reflected those Australians who are actually living in the U.S. and not just vacationing. After I listed those figures and some supporting context I listed the demographic information that illustrates how most Australians that intend to leave their home country return within two years. I also provided some ancillary material that shows what kind of process and impediments Australians face when attempting to settle permanently in the U.S. or at least for extended periods of time.
Australians in America
According to research conducted by Asia Matters for America, there are 93,864 Australians living in the U.S. as of 2013. Out of that figure, 18,803 have settled in California. California is by far the state with the most Australians living in it, over 10,000 more than the New York, which is in second place with 8,002 Australians.
Research conducted by the Australian organization ADVANCE indicated that of the "Australian Diaspora" the largest number of migrants are in the 25-39 age bracket. "Gender distribution is almost even, with an increasing departure rate for females in their 20s and 30s."
There is, however, a documented high rate of return among Australians who leave their home country. The ex-Australian Treasurer Peter Costello stated that "most expatriates who leave when they are young, come back to Australia for significant events in their life, for example, when their children start school, when a parent enters care, or when they retire." Findings indicate that "75% of skilled Australian residents returned within two years of their intended ‘permanent’ departure."
With this estimation of 75% in mind, we can deduce that — out of the 18,803 permanent Australian residents in California — roughly 14,102 will end up returning to their home country.
Other points of consideration
According to a recent Australian news report, it is fairly easy for Australians to gain entry into the U.S. This is due to the Free Trade Agreement and the E3 visa, a category created specifically for Australians to make their passage to America a smooth one.
However, this does not come without its caveats. The Trump administration has some Australians worried about the status of their work visas. Speculation exists that Trump might begin to direct Labor and State Departments as well as Homeland Security "to review employment-based categories, potentially hitting thousands of Australians with work and study visas." This crackdown could adversely affect the E3 specialty occupation visa.
SUMMARY
In the report above, I have listed the most recent data concerning the number of Australians living in the U.S. and California specifically. I have also given a targeted estimate on the number of Australians that will return to their home country to resettle permanently as well as some other points of consideration.
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