ABSTRACT
This chapter includes an overview of the historic immigration from Eastern Europe. Historic policies with a focus on their impact on Eastern European immigration are discussed since the immigration process is determined largely by the laws of the sending and receiving countries. These policies regulate the characteristics of the immigrant cohorts, indicating how many people are allowed to immigrate, their nationalities, and their human capital (education levels and occupations). The characteristics of Eastern European immigrants such as numbers, types of occupations, origins, and settlement issues are included.
