You nailed it in this article, Andrea. Words are magic and the term "expat" has different connotations than the word "immigrant," implying that the person had a choice in changing countries, as opposed to being forced to leave due to economic or political circumstances. I have noticed the use of these words, too, as in my article on the same topic.

https://medium.com/@brenda-arnold-2441/one-foreigner-is-not-like-another-heres-why-1f99f3bfcba2