Due to the flow of people back and forth between the
United Kingdom and its colonies, as well as between the colonies, there has been an American diaspora of a sort since before the United States was founded. During and immediately after the
American Revolutionary War, a number of American
Loyalists relocated to other countries, chiefly
Canada and the
United Kingdom. Residence in countries outside the
British Empire was unusual, and usually limited to the wealthy, such as
Benjamin Franklin, who was able to self-finance his trip to
Paris as a U.S.
diplomat.
18th century After the
American Revolutionary War, some 3,000
Black Loyalists - slaves who escaped their
Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the
Crown's guarantee of freedom - were evacuated from New York to
Nova Scotia; they were individually listed in the
Book of Negroes as the British gave them certificates of freedom and arranged for their transportation. The Crown gave them land grants and supplies to help them resettle in Nova Scotia. Other Black Loyalists were evacuated to
London or the Caribbean colonies. Thousands of slaves escaped from plantations and fled to British lines, especially after British occupation of
Charleston, South Carolina. When the British evacuated, they took many former slaves with them. Many ended up among London's
Black Poor, with 400 resettled by the
Sierra Leone Company to
Freetown in Africa in 1787. Five years later, another 1,192 Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia chose to emigrate to Sierra Leone, becoming known as the
Nova Scotian settlers in the new
British colony of Sierra Leone. Both waves of settlers became part of the
Sierra Leone Creole people and the founders of the nation of Sierra Leone. Some also migrated to Mexico, where they established the
New Virginia Colony with the help of
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. They founded their capital, Carlota, and had planned to make more settlements, but the colony was abandoned after the fall of the
Second Mexican Empire, and most of the settlers returned to the U.S. There was also a sizeable presence of ex-confederates in
British Honduras, now known as
Belize. In Asia, the U.S. government made efforts to secure special
privileges for its citizens. This began with the
Treaty of Wanghia in China in 1844. It was followed by the
expedition of
Commodore Perry to Japan 10 years later, and the
United States–Korea Treaty of 1882. American traders began to settle in those countries. In the 1880s and 1890s, a large number of Americans, particularly from the state of
California, settled in the
Witwatersrand in
South Africa during the
Witwatersrand Gold Rush. In 1896, the United States government formally requested that the British administration watch over the interests of American settlers in the region.
Early 20th century , early 1910s looking towards Mexico Many Americans migrated to the
Philippines after it became a U.S. territory following the
Philippine–American War.
Cecil Rhodes created the
Rhodes Scholarship in 1902 to encourage greater cooperation between the United States, the British Empire and Germany by allowing students to
study abroad.
Interwar period In the
period between the First and Second World Wars, many Americans, particularly writers such as
Ernest Hemingway,
Gertrude Stein, and
Ezra Pound, migrated to
Europe to take part in the cultural scene. European
cities like
Amsterdam,
Berlin,
Copenhagen, Paris,
Prague,
Rome,
Stockholm, and
Vienna came to host a large number of Americans. Many Americans, typically those who were idealistic and/or involved in left-leaning politics, also
participated in the
Spanish Civil War (mainly supporting the
Republicans against the
Nationalists) in Spain while they lived in Madrid and elsewhere. Other Americans returned home to the countries of their origin, including the parents of American author/illustrator
Eric Carle, who returned to Germany. Thousands of
Japanese Americans were unable to return to the United States, after the
Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Éamon de Valera, the third
Taoiseach of Ireland during the 1930s, was born in New York to an Irish mother and a Spanish father. He moved to Ireland at a young age with his mother's family. An estimated 100,000 Americans emigrated to the
Soviet Union during the
Great Depression in search of work and a 'fairer way of life'.
Cold War During the
Cold War, Americans became a permanent fixture in many countries with large populations of American soldiers, such as
West Germany and
South Korea. The Cold War also saw the development of government programs to encourage young Americans to go abroad. The
Fulbright Program was established in 1946 to encourage
cultural exchange, and the
Peace Corps was created in 1961 both to encourage cultural exchange and a civic spirit of
volunteerism. With the formation of the state of
Israel, over 100,000 Jews made
aliyah to the holy land, where they played a role in the creation of the state. Other Americans traveled to countries like
Lebanon, again to take place in the cultural scene. During the
Vietnam War, about 100,000 American men went abroad to
avoid conscription, 90% of them going to Canada. European nations, including neutral states like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, offered asylum to thousands of American expatriates who refused to fight. A small number of Americans
abandoned the country for political reasons, defecting to the Soviet Union, Cuba, or other countries, such as
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, and sixties radicals such as
Joanne Chesimard,
Pete O'Neal,
Eldridge Cleaver, and
Stokely Carmichael. During this period Americans continued to travel abroad for religious reasons, such as
Richard James, inventor of the
Slinky, who went to
Bolivia with the
Wycliffe Bible Translators, and the
Peoples Temple establishment of
Jonestown in
Guyana.
After the Cold War The opening of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Central Asia after the Cold War provided new opportunities for American businesspeople. Additionally, with the global dominance of the United States in the world economy, the
ESL industry continued to grow, especially in new and emerging markets. Many Americans also take a
year abroad during college, and some return to the country after graduation.
21st century Iraq War deserters sought refuge mostly
in Canada and Europe, and
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden escaped to Russia. Increasing numbers of Americans retire abroad due to financial setbacks resulting from the
2008 financial crisis. Young Americans facing a tough job market due to the recession are also increasingly open to working abroad. According to a
Gallup poll from January 2019, 16% of Americans, including 40% of women under the age of 30, would like to leave the United States. In 2018, the
Federal Voting Assistance Program estimated a total number of 4.8 million American civilians lived abroad, 3.9 million civilians, plus 1.2 million service members and other government-affiliated Americans. A survey by
Arton Capital found that 53 percent of American millionaires are more likely to leave the country after the 2024 presidential election, regardless of who wins. It is also expected that more American citizens and legal immigrants will be unduly
deported under the more aggressive policies of the
second Trump administration. In 2025, 40% of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 44 stated that they would permanently move abroad if given the opportunity. This desire was expressed by only 10% in 2014. In addition to traditionally popular expatriate destinations, such as the
United Arab Emirates and
Qatar,
Malaysia has become increasingly popular for relocation visas and in particular, American Muslims seeking a change of environment due to changing politics at home, according to some
relocation service agents. In 2025, 2.2 million people left the U.S., with 180,000 of these U.S. citizens, a net loss for the first time since
the great depression. ==Reasons for emigrating==