Immigrant Generations

Immigrant Generations

The term first-generation, as it pertains to a person's nationality or residency in a country, can imply two possible meanings, depending on context:

• A foreign born citizen or resident who has immigrated and been naturalized in a new country of residence.
• A naturally born citizen or resident of a country whose parents obey the previous definition, or

This ambiguity is captured and corroborated in The Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "generation":

...designating a member of the first (or second, etc.) generation of a family to do something or live somewhere; spec. designating a naturalized immigrant or a descendant of immigrant parents, esp. in the United States.... (OED definition of "generation," section 6b., emphasis added)b

In the United States, among demographers and other social scientists, the term "first generation" is used to refer to foreign-born residents (excluding those born abroad of U.S. parents).

There is not a universal consensus on which of these meanings is always implied.