The first International Institute was established in New York City in 1911. By 1925, there were 55 International Institutes in the US, primarily in the industrial Northeast, Midwest, and in California, which already led the nation in immigrant population, with 52 percent of Californians being immigrants and their children.

Today, these pioneers are joined by immigrant-serving projects in Travelers and Immigrant Aid Societies, YMCAs, Nationalities Service Centers, and others to form the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) partnership of organizations.