their histories are diverse. as with the new immigration from central and eastern europe to the east coast from the mid-19th century on, asians started immigrating to the united states in large numbers in the 19th century. this first major wave of immigration consisted predominantly of chinese and japanese laborers, but also included korean and south asian immigrants. many immigrants also came during and after this period from the philippines, which was a us colony from 1898 to 1946. exclusion laws and policies largely prohibited and curtailed asian immigration until the 1940s. after the us changed its immigration laws during the 1940s to 1960s to make entry easier, a much larger new wave of immigration from asia began. today the largest self-identified asian american sub-groups according to census data are chinese americans, filipino americans, indian americans, vietnamese americans, korean americans, and japanese americans, among other groups.