We found that upon becoming LPRs, those with refugee/asylee/parolee and legalization visas were most likely to be employed, followed by those with diversity visas and those with immediate relatives and family sponsored visas. Within 5 years, those with diversity and immediate relatives and family sponsored visas had the highest increase in employment. Those with a refugee/asylee/parolees visa experienced a decline in employment, while employment rate among those with legalizaton remained constant. These results suggest that initial gaps in employment status by visa category narrowed over time.
Our second analysis showed that those in high skill jobs were most likely to have health insurance and those in low skill jobs were least likely to have health insurance shortly after becoming LPRs in wave 1 and over time. Overall, health insurance coverage improved for workers across all job skill levels from wave 1 to wave 2. The odds of insurance among those with high skill level jobs remained higher than for those in medium and low skill level jobs in wave 1 and over time. The difference in insurance coverage across job skill level, thus, persisted over time.
Our findings of a difference in the odds of employment by visa type suggest that there is a differential rate of social mobility based on migration pathways. These conclusions align with theories of heterogeneous selective advantages post-migration based on visa categories (Chiswick et al., 2005; Kreisberg, 2019; Morey et al., 2020). The types of visa represent distinct “starting points” that determine differential employment prospects, which persist despite legal status and over time (Kreisberg, 2019). Gelatt (Gelatt, 2020) evaluated employment prospects and job skill by visa type using both waves of the NIS data. The key distinctions between our study and the study by Gelatt (Gelatt, 2020) include our different definition of visa categories, their inclusion of individuals with employment-based visas and their exclusion of those with legalization visas, their comparison of employment trends with those of the U.S. population, their different regression methods and our analysis of insurance status by job skill. Despite these differences in analytical approach, Gelatt also found differences in employment status by visa type. Those with diversity and siblings of U.S citizens/LPR visas improved their employment status the most over time. Compared to the U.S. population, immigrants had higher rates of employment over time.
Using both waves of the NIS data and interviews with stakeholders, Kreisberg et al. (Kreisberg et al., 2022) found that refugees experienced significant declines in employment the longer they lived in the U.S. despite having unique early federal aid to obtain employment upon arrival in the U.S. We similarly found that refugees/asylees/parolees initially were most likely to be employed, but this declined within 5 years of becoming LPRs. Refugees face challenges maintaining long-term employment, especially, after losing aid from resettlement services shortly after being placed in undesirable low wage “survival jobs” (Kreisberg et al., 2022) .
The observed employment trajectories among those with legalization visas also highlight their unique migration path that, perhaps, is advantageous in the labor market. Given that those with legalization visas adjusted their immigration status, from temporary immigrants to LPRs, after having already lived or worked in the U.S. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2022), it is expected that they would have a higher and more stable rate of employment than immigrants with less familiarity with the U.S. These findings suggest that when legal pathways to securing legal permanent residence are open, individuals can move up the social ladder and contribute meaningfully to the American society.
Their experiences contrast with those of diversity visa holders who were least likely to be employed in wave 1 but had the most improvement in employment status by wave 2. Those with diversity visas were the least familiar with the U.S. (Kreisberg, 2019), because of being newly arrived (Guillermina, 2011), and lacked support from both family and social services with their integration into American society (Chiswick et al., 2005; Guillermina, 2011; Kreisberg, 2019). Given the highly selective process for award of the diversity visa (American Immigration Council, 2017; Guillermina, 2011), it is expected that they would have the educational background and skill sets to quickly learn how to navigate various systems in the U.S. (Chen et al., 2009). They would, therefore, have the most upward mobility of all migrant groups we studied.
The comparable odds of employment between individuals with diversity visas and those with immediate relatives and family sponsored visas in wave 1 suggests that both groups have similar initial experiences of finding work despite the latter potentially having more social support and employment opportunities due to family networks. Perhaps those with immediate relatives and family sponsored visas do not share the same financial pressures of gaining employment quickly and may be more selective in their search for work that best match their skills and interests. Our findings align with those reported by Kreisberg (Kreisberg, 2019) that despite initial disadvantages in securing prestigeous jobs, diversity visas improve their employment prospects over time and gain jobs that are equal in prestige to those gained by family-based visa holders.
In the second analysis, our findings that immigrants in high skill level jobs were most likely to be insured also align with current evidence (Goldman et al., 2005; Kao et al., 2010). Job skill level may represent different job quality or prestige. Highly prestigeous jobs require higher average education attainment and offer higher pay, more job security and more job autonomy than less prestigeous work (Kreisberg, 2019). Those in highly prestigeous jobs not only have more access to health insurance, they also are the most socially and economically mobile (Chiswick et al., 2005; Kreisberg, 2019). Immigrants who secure highly prestigeous jobs upon arrival in a destination country have highly transferable skills that enable them to acquire and maintain higher occupational status (Chiswick et al., 2005). They also are highly motivated to continue investing in themselves by gaining new skills to remain competitive in the labor market (Chiswick et al., 2005). This may explain why this group consistently had high coverage that never converged with those in lower skill level jobs over time.
Strengths and Limitations
Our work builds on existing literature both by using a data source of LPRs reliably ascertained by USCIS and by assessing more nuanced heterogeneous effects of visa types and job skill level on employment and insurance, respectively.
Our study also had some limitations to note. First, we used data that are close to 20 years old. Therefore, our results may not reflect current trends in employment and insurance among immigrants. However, the NIS data remains the only large nationally representative and comprehensive data source of immigrants with well ascertained visa categories (Kreisberg et al., 2022; Pandey & Kagotho, 2010; Zajdel, 2023). Second, we had some concerns about selection bias resulting from loss to follow-up in wave 2. However, nonresponse weights corrected for this attrition, and the sensitivity analyses we performed showed no evidence of selection bias. Third, while our study evaluated employment rates and odds of employment by visa type, we did not evaluate the type and quality of employment attained by visa type. Therefore, we should be cautious about interpreting our lower odds of employment among immigrants with certain visa types as evidence of workforce disadvantage. Fourth, we also did not evaluate whether people changed job skill level and what impact that had on their insurance status. Finally, our findings do not reflect experiences of undocumented immigrants since they are not included in the NIS data. They, thus, cannot be generalized to all immigrants and may underestimate the true effects of immigration on employment prospects and health insurance in the U.S.
Future research with recent longitudinal data is warranted to capture current trends in employment and health insurance among immigrants, including the impact of change in job skill level on insurance status. Such work will provide further support for increased funding and investment in interventions aimed at social integration and upward mobility of the immigrant population.