Nepalese American

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Nepalese American
Kiran Chetry
Total population
59,490[1] As of 2010
Regions with significant populations
New York City Metropolitan Area[2]  · Washington Metropolitan Area[2] · New York (7,625)[3]  · Texas (7,513)[3]  · California (6,231)[3]  · Virginia (4,770)[3]  · Maryland (3,412)[3]  · Massachusetts (2,865)[3]  · Colorado (2,751)[3]
Languages

English · Nepali · Nepal Bhasa · Limbu · Gurung · Tamang

Religion

Hinduism · Buddhism (Tibetan Bon  · Tibetan Buddhism· Shamanism[4]

Related ethnic groups

Nepali people · Newar · Rana · Shah · Tamang · Gurung · Limbu · Rai · Magar

Nepalese Americans or Nepali Americans are the Citizens or Permanent Residents staying in United States whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in the Asian nation of Nepal. The category also includes other Nepali language speaking people migrated from India, Bhutan or Myanmar. Their migration to the United States began in the 20th century, and they have been able to establish themselves in this new land. The history of immigration to America for Nepalese is short in comparison to other ethnic groups.

The words "Nepali" and "Nepalis" are more commonly used by Nepalese Americans and are gaining widespread popularity in English usage as opposed to Nepalese, which is an Anglicized version.

Contents

History [edit]

Nepalese Americans seem to have begun migrating to the United States from early 20th century. The first Nepalese to enter the United States were classified as "other Asian". Immigration records show that between 1881 and 1890 1,910 "other Asians" were admitted to the United States. However, Nepal did not open its borders until 1950, and most Nepalis who left the country during that time primarily went to India to study. Nepalese Americans were first classified as a separate ethnic group in 1974, when 56 Nepalese had immigrated to the United States. The number of immigrants from Nepal remained below 100 per year through 1992.[5]

According to the 1990 U.S. Census, there were 2,616 Americans with Nepalese ancestry. Fewer than 100 Nepalese immigrants become U.S. citizens each year, but the number of Nepalese who become legal residents has grown steadily from 78 in 1987 to 431 in 1996. The Nepalese community experienced a significant growth in population during the 2000s. The poor political and economic conditions caused by the Nepalese Civil War markedly increased emigration from Nepal. Significant communities of Nepalese Americans exist in large metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Gainesville, Florida, Portland, Oregon, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Sizable numbers also live in various cities of California.[6][unreliable source][citation needed]

Bhutanese Nepali [edit]

Since 1990, more than 105,000 ethnically Nepali refugees from Bhutan have been temporarily settled in refugee camps in the eastern part of Nepal. They were expelled from Bhutan as "illegal migrants", despite living there for centuries, in order to maintain the ethnic purity of Bhutan's Tibetan-origin majority. After 15 years of exile they are now being resettled in US, Europe and Australia. By the end of the resettlement program it is estimated that around 50,000 of Bhutanese will be in U.S.[7] As of June 20, 2010, 27,926 Nepali-Bhutanese have been resettled in the USA.[8] [9]

Notable Americans of Nepali descent [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "ASIAN ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH ONE OR MORE OTHER RACES, AND WITH ONE OR MORE ASIAN CATEGORIES FOR SELECTED GROUPS". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 2011-07-03. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "PCT1: Total Population". 2010 Census. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 December 2012. 
  4. ^ Dhungel, Ramesh K. (1999). "Nepalese Immigrants in the United States of America". Contributions to Nepalese Studies (CNAS/TU) 26 (1): 119–134. Retrieved 30 April 2013. 
  5. ^ Miller, Olivia. "Nepalese Americans". Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Gale. 
  6. ^ http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Nepalese-Americans.html
  7. ^ Bhutanese Refugees[dead link]
  8. ^ Apna News[dead link]
  9. ^ BBC Nepali Service[dead link]

External links [edit]