Settling for Academia? H-1B Visas and the Career Choices of International Students in the United States

Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes and Delia Furtado

No 1705, RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series from Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM)

Abstract: The yearly cap on H-1B visas became binding for the first time in 2004, making it harder for college-educated foreigners to work in the United States. However, academic institutions are exempt from the cap and citizens of five countries (Canada, Mexico, Chile, Singapore, and Australia) have access to alternative work visas. We exploit those exemptions to gauge how immigrant career choices are affected by the binding visa cap. Among other impacts, the binding cap raises international students’ likelihood of employment in academia, even outside of their field of study, a result consistent with the notion of “settling for academia.â€

Keywords: H-1B visas; high-skilled immigration; academic labor market; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J61 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-lab, nep-mig and nep-sea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Settling for Academia?: H-1B Visas and the Career Choices of International Students in the United States (2019)
Working Paper: Settling for Academia? H-1B Visas and the Career Choices of International Students in the United States (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:crm:wpaper:1705

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