Pathways to Permanence: Legal Status Transitions as a Key Mechanism in Skilled Migrant Selection and Settlement

Abstract

Despite impassioned debates about immigration reform brewing in the U.S. government, researchers know remarkably little about how immigration policy shapes migration behavior. There is still much to learn about the composition of specific classes of admission, how long migrants stay in the United States, and the legal channels they follow to permanent residency or emigration. This paper takes a life course perspective on skilled migration to examine the micro-level processes and various pathways that lead to permanent settlement and emigration, and identifies legal status transitions as a key sorting mechanism in processes of immigrant selection. I find that migrants who successfully underwent a previous legal status transition were more likely to pursue permanent residence, but also saw a wider array of avenues to obtain a green card. The mismatch in some migrants' permanent settlement intentions and temporary legal status can lead to feelings of alienation and frustration in the immigration system and the U.S. labor market, driving some to emigrate or seek channels outside of the skilled migration program to procure a green card. The findings of this paper deepen our understanding of the processes that shape selection effects among immigrants and highlight the need for more robust and granular longitudinal data on legal status indicators.

Comparison of physical activity as an obesity-related behavior between immigrants and native-born US adults

“…Historically, compared to native-born residents, US immigrants have been known to enjoy a benefit regarding having at least a college level of education (Connor and Ruiz, 2019;Jacobs, 2019). The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled over the last three decades in most regions of the world (Chooi et al, 2019).…”

How legal patterns over lifetime of migration shape migrants' labour market outcomes: Evidence from Mexican migrants in the United States

“…Nevertheless, these studies have applied a life‐course lens mostly on the outcomes rather than legal status. There are a few studies that apply a life‐course lens on the legal status and explore the legal transition, but they have not focused on labour market outcomes (Jacobs, 2019; Patler & Laster Pirtle, 2018; Torres & Young, 2016). From these studies, we observe that migrants may go from one legal status to another over their lifetime of migration and that legal status is dynamic rather than static.…”

Multiple (il)legal pathways: The diversity of immigrants' legal trajectories in Belgium

“…For immigrants who intend to stay in the destination country in the long term, a desirable prospect is sometimes considered as one that follows a linear and upward administrative pathway, from (possibly) a short-term residence permit to a 'limited' permit and, eventually, a permanent residence permit (Aussems 2012: 4). However, a growing number of qualitative studies have recently shown that legal trajectories are often more complex (Jacobs 2019;Merla and Smit 2020;Vianello, Finotelli, and Brey 2019). Non-linear patterns such as moving back and forth between legal statuses and periods without any residence permit are common among immigrants in Western countries (Vickstrom 2014).…”

“…Therefore, the temporal dimension is crucial in studying these mechanisms. That is to say, only a longitudinal approach can grasp the diversity and the complexity of immigrants' administrative pathways (Jacobs 2019). This is all the more important as some studies suggest that migration policies have become increasingly restrictive and immigrants with temporary status more numerous, restraining opportunities for permanent residence permits or citizenship and leading to potentially more discontinuous and precarious legal trajectories over time (Cook-Martín 2019;Kofman 2002).…”

“…This is all the more important as some studies suggest that migration policies have become increasingly restrictive and immigrants with temporary status more numerous, restraining opportunities for permanent residence permits or citizenship and leading to potentially more discontinuous and precarious legal trajectories over time (Cook-Martín 2019;Kofman 2002). Yet immigrants' long-term administrative trajectories remain a blind spot in quantitative migration research due to the scarcity of and limited access to large-scale longitudinal data (e.g., Goldring and Landolt 2021;Jacobs 2019;Vianello, Finotelli, and Brey 2019). Moreover, the few existing quantitative studies focus on immigrants with a specific status (asylum seekers mostly) or from specific regions (Bertrand 2019;Vickstrom 2014).…”