- Immigrated (year, from)
What it means
- Immigration is a life event, not a relationship, so it is recorded as a note on the person rather than as a line.
- Writing the year lets the reader see who was born before and after the move, which matters for language, culture and family roles.
- When a whole household moved together, some practitioners also draw a dashed boundary around those people. If you do, say so in the key.
When to use it
- Cultural and family-of-origin assignments where migration shaped the family story.
- Clinical genograms where acculturation stress, separation from extended family or documentation status is relevant.
- Any family where generations were raised in different countries.
Common mistakes
- Inventing a symbol and not explaining it in the key. A reader cannot guess what an arrow or flag means.
- Marking only the first person who moved. Mark everyone who migrated, including children who came with their parents.
- Leaving out the year. "Immigrated" without a date hides who grew up where.
Genogram Maker draws this symbol for you and adds it to the key automatically. Open the example above and edit it.