This presentation from the 2003 Meetings of the American Statistical Association discusses lessons learned from the U.S. Census Bureau's Migrant Life History Project (MLHP). Topics covered include the three main purposes of the MLHP, the MLHP data and sample, and an evaluation of current questions used in U.S. Census surveys such as place of birth, citizenship status, year of entry, language spoken, and ancestry/ethnic identification.

The two lessons learne from the MLHP were:

1. Current questions do not adequately capture salient characteristics of the foreign-born population.
2. The results of the MLHP suggest several new areas of attention in order to field a North American Migration (or broader migration) Survey. That survey should include revision of existing questions and new areas of investigation.

The presentation discusses a move towards a North American Migration Survey, operational issues, an implications.