Egyptian Americans

The 2016 US Census estimated the number of people with Egyptian ancestry at 256,000,[8] most of whom are from Egypt's Christian Orthodox Coptic minority.

Since the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat and consequential inauguration of Hosni Mubarak as the President, the Egyptian economy has endured three decades of economic stagnation that has prompted a significant number of Egyptians to emigrate to more prosperous countries, such as the United States.

Attracted by the higher standards of living and greater civil liberties, Egyptian expatriates have traditionally favoured permanent residence in countries such as the United States, and Canada, but sizeable numbers are also present in Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Therefore, social networks through familial ties remain the primary means of entry for Egyptians obtaining LPR status, nonetheless, almost as many, precisely 29%, enter through Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990.

[17] In 2016, the third major channel of obtaining LPR status in the US for Egyptian first-generation immigrants were as refugees and asylees.

[7] The first immigrants of Egypt that arrived in United States were mainly university graduates, and some Egyptians who had come seeking further education.

The second wave had university degrees, but had to accept menial jobs (many of them drove taxicabs, or waited on tables in restaurants).

[18] This high level of educational attainment may be part of a wider phenomenon of skilled Egyptian migration to the US.

[19] Concerning occupational differences, the Egyptian foreign-born population and the American populace do not showcase startling divergences.

Yet in 2016 estimates by the US Census Bureau, both groups tended to contrast at the more extreme ends of the professional market.

Indeed, Egyptian first-generation immigrants in 2016 outnumbered the US population in the management, business, science and arts occupations.