Skills

Foreign-born workers increasingly can be found in occupations across the skills spectrum in many countries—high-, middle-, and low-skilled. While much of the focus in advanced economies is on immigrants in high- and low-skilled professions, an increasing share are working in middle-skilled jobs. The research here examines immigrant workers by skill levels—which sectors they are working in, what share of the workforce they constitute, and how they fare compared to their native-born peers.

Recent Activity

Reports June 2021 Leaving Money on the Table: The Persistence of Brain Waste among College-Educated Immigrants By Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Policy Briefs April 2021 The Integration of Immigrant Health Professionals: Looking beyond the COVID-19 Crisis By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and José Ramón Fernández-Peña
Fact Sheets April 2021 Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young and Elementary-School-Age Children: Key Sociodemographic Characteristics By Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh	Articles February 18, 2021 Climate Extremes, Food Insecurity, and Migration in Central America: A Complicated Nexus By Diego Pons
Policy Briefs February 2021 COVID-19 and the Demand for Labor and Skills in Europe: Early Evidence and Implications for Migration Policy By Terence Hogarth	Reports December 2020 New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations By Carol Farbotko
Commentaries December 2020 The Role of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in the United States during the Pandemic By Michael Fix, Jeanne Batalova and José Ramón Fernández-Peña	Reports December 2020 Construcción de un nuevo sistema migratorio regional: Redefiniendo la cooperación entre Estados Unidos con México y Centroamérica By Andrew Selee and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto

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Reports July 2019 Start-Up Visas: A Passport for Innovation and Growth? By Liam Patuzzi	Policy Briefs June 2019 Migration, Development, and Global Governance: From Crisis toward Consolidation By Kathleen Newland
Reports June 2019 Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: From Bright Spots to System Change By Liam Patuzzi, Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos	Reports May 2019 The Evolution of the Australian System for Selecting Economic Immigrants By Anna Boucher and Amy Davidson
Policy Briefs May 2019 Noncitizens in the U.S. Military: Navigating National Security Concerns and Recruitment Needs By Muzaffar Chishti, Austin Rose and Stephen Yale-Loehr	Fact Sheets May 2019 A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Reports April 2019 The Canadian Express Entry System for Selecting Economic Immigrants: Progress and Persistent Challenges By Daniel Hiebert	Reports April 2019 Spain’s Labor Migration Policies in the Aftermath of Economic Crisis By Kate Hooper

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Spotlight

September 29, 2017

Chinese Immigrants in the United States

The Chinese represent the third-largest immigrant population in the United States, their numbers having grown rapidly in recent decades. The population is atypical in some respects: Far more highly educated and likely to have come via student and employment pathways than the overall U.S. foreign-born population. This article offers key data on Chinese immigrants, including top destinations, incomes, and English proficiency.

Spotlight

August 31, 2017

Indian Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from India are the second-largest foreign-born group in the United States, after Mexicans. Indian immigrants tend to be far more highly educated and have greater English proficiency than the foreign-born population overall. This Spotlight article offers the latest data on Indian immigrants, focusing on population size, state- and city-level distribution, occupation, educational attainment, and more.

Spotlight

June 28, 2017

Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

Approximately 2.1 million immigrants work in health-care occupations in the United States, comprising nearly 17 percent of the 12.4 million doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health-care professionals. Learn more about immigrant health-care workers in the United States with this data-rich article, including top occupations nationally and by state, countries of origin, educational levels, visa pathways, and much more.

Feature

January 4, 2017

To Stay or Not To Stay: The Calculus for International STEM Students in the United States

More than 1 million international students were in the United States in 2015-16, a significant share of them in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. While countries increasingly are vying for this population, these individuals face a complex choice upon graduation: to stay or leave? This article examines international STEM students in the United States and the motivations underlying their postgraduation plans.

Spotlight

February 3, 2016

College-Educated Immigrants in the United States

The number of college-educated immigrants in the United States has more than tripled in the last two decades. Asians accounted for 46 percent of the 10.5 million college-educated immigrants, with India the top origin country. This Spotlight article examines key indicators of the college-educated population, including international students and high-skilled H-1B visa holders.

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EVENT PH 2014.02.05 Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

Video

February 5, 2014

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally- A presentation in Guatemala on the Regional Migration Study Group

During this public briefing in Guatemala City (conducted in both English and Spanish), the Co-Directors of the Migration Policy Institute-convened Regional Migration Study Group, MPI President Demetrios G.

Video, Audio

December 12, 2013

Tackling Brain Waste among Immigrant Professionals: Initiatives to Improve the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

This panel discussion focuses on the circulation of skilled immigrant professionals and the recognition of foreign qualifications in the United States and Europe.

Video, Audio

May 6, 2013

Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: A New View on Migration and Human Capital for the United States, Mexico, and Central America

A panel discussion on the release of the Regional Migration Study Group's final report, Thinking Regionally to Compete Globally: Leveraging Migration & Human Capital in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, outlining its findings and offering recommendations to policymakers in the region.

Video, Audio

March 27, 2013

Investing Wisely in the Future: How the U.S. Immigration System Can Better Meet U.S. Labor Market Needs

With the prospects for immigration reform greater than they have been in more than a decade and the U.S. economy slowly shrugging off the effects of the recession, the United States may be on the cusp of historic changes that make the immigration system a more effective tool for innovation, economic growth and the competitiveness of its firms—large and small.

Video, Audio

December 7, 2011

Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults

A discussion on the gains that young adult immigrants or the U.S.-born children of immigrants have made in education and employment, with speakers: Michael Fix, Jeanne Batalova, Andrew P. Kelly, Raul Gonzalez, and Margie McHugh.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

February 2023

Unblocking the U.S. Immigration System: Executive Actions to Facilitate the Migration of Needed Workers

Inefficiencies in the U.S. immigration system and case backlogs are preventing individuals eligible for immigration to the United States from filling some of the millions of job vacancies. This policy brief outlines executive actions that could facilitate the migration of needed workers, retain immigrants already in the U.S. workforce, and ease challenges experienced by U.S. employers and their foreign-born workers.

Fact Sheets

December 2022

The Skills and Economic Outcomes of Immigrant and U.S.-Born College Graduates

College-educated immigrants are more likely to have advanced degrees than their U.S.-born peers with college degrees. But their educational levels have not always translated into similar occupational gains: They are more likely to be overeducated for their positions. Drawing on PIAAC data, this fact sheet sketches educational characteristics, monthly earnings, skill underutilization, and job quality for immigrant and U.S.-born college graduates alike.

Commentaries

November 2022

Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field

Shortages of workers continue to plague early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems across the United States. With the field already struggling to effectively serve young children in families that speak languages other than English, apprenticeship programs offer a promising solution to bring more—and more multilingual—workers into early childhood careers.

Articles

November 2, 2022

Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland

Poland hosts millions of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion. While the new arrivals have tended to have been greeted warmly, many have questions about the future. As the months pass, many displaced Ukrainians wonder when and if they will return to their native country. This article, based on interviews with dozens of displaced Ukrainians in Poland, examines their experiences.

Policy Briefs

October 2022

Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials

As the United States seeks to adapt to trends such as technological change and aging that are reshaping the labor market, increasing productivity and the number of high-skilled workers will be critical. This issue brief explores the characteristics of the 115 million adults without postsecondary credentials, 21 percent of them immigrant, as well as the prospects for credential acquisition for foreign-born subgroups.

Commentaries

October 2022

Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations

People displaced from Ukraine are finding work more rapidly in European countries than prior refugee cohorts. But uncertainty over how long they will stay, combined with hurdles such as language barriers, has meant many are prioritizing any job over the right job. This commentary examines how policymakers could address this waste of skills as they seek to fill pressing labor needs and facilitate deeper integration of the new arrivals.

Reports

June 2022

The Future of Remote Work: Digital Nomads and the Implications for Immigration Systems

The number of people who work from home or another location other than a traditional office has been growing for decades, but the pandemic has accelerated this shift—with important implications for immigration policy. This report examines trends in remote work, challenges digital nomads and employers face when navigating immigration systems, and opportunities to adapt immigration policies to keep pace with changes in the world of work.

Reports

June 2022

COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic recession have affected the lives of all U.S. residents, but immigrants have been among the hardest hit, with evidence of disproportionately high rates of death as well as a particularly high spike in unemployment. This report takes a look back at how the COVID-19 crisis has affected U.S. immigration policies and levels and the country’s immigrant communities.

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