Precarity for the global talent: The impact of visa policies on high‐skilled immigrants’ work in the United States
| Published date | 01 April 2022 |
| Author | Marcela F. González |
| Date | 01 April 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12870 |
International Migration. 2022;60:193–207.
|
193
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
Received: 28 Aug ust 2020
|
Revised: 20 Febru ary 2021
|
Accepted: 23 April 2 021
DOI: 10 .1111/imig .12870
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Precarity for the global talent: The impact of visa
policies on high- skilled immigrants’ work in the
United States
Marcela F. González
© 2021 The Author s. Internationa l Migration © 2021 IOM
Brooklyn College, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Correspondence
Marcela F. Gonzále z, Brooklyn Coll ege,
CUNY, 2900, 3612 Jame s Hall, Bedford
Avenue, Brook lyn, NY 11210, USA.
Email: mgonzalez1@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Funding Information
This work was sup ported by the Of fice of
Research and S ponsored Progra ms at the
Graduate Ce nter of the City Unive rsity of
New York with a Disse rtation Resear ch
Grant.
Abstract
The current histori cal context of growing diversificatio n of
legal statuses for high- skilled immigrants since the 1990s
has made immigration to th e United States a multi- step
process: first i mmigrants have temporary le gal statuses, or
no legal status, a nd only in a subsequent stage ac quire legal
permanent residency. I a nalyse the co nstraints this multi-
step legal trajector y puts on highly skilled immi grants’
work in the United States. Spe cifically, what consequences
it has for high- sk illed immigrants’ incorporation into t he la-
bour market the restrictions attached to temporar y legal
statuses and th e visa backlogs and waiting list s immigrants
experience in the transition from tempo rary to permanent
residency. Based on 30 semi- structured interviews with
high- skill ed immigrants, I explain why legal status con-
straints their work due to t hree main reasons: immi grants’
attachment to one employer; dif ficulties finding a job that
sponsors work temporar y or permanent visas; and retain-
ing the same job unde r different legal statuses.
KEYWORDS
high- skilled immigrat ion, precarious tal ent, visa policies, leg al
status, inco rporation into labour ma rket
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