How much is a green card worth? Evidence from Mexican men who marry women born in the U.S

Miao Chi and Scott Drewianka

Labour Economics, 2014, vol. 31, issue C, 103-116

Abstract: Many countries impose restrictions on some immigrants' job mobility, likely reducing their wages. We quantify such effects for Mexican-born men in the U.S. by recognizing that immigrants who marry U.S. natives receive expedited “green cards” (Permanent Residency). Robust IV estimates indicate that intermarried Mexicans earn a 40 percent wage premium, and larger for the most mobile subgroups. Analogous premiums are statistically insignificant for men from Puerto Rico, who acquire no new rights because they are already U.S. citizens. Attributing the approximately 30 percent difference to green cards, we estimate that eliminating wait times would increase Mexicans' mean earnings $120,000–$150,000 in present value.

Keywords: Immigration; Mobility; Green card; International intermarriage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:31:y:2014:i:c:p:103-116

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2014.10.004

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