Visa Policy

Visa policy is the process by which countries decide which noncitizens they wish to admit—either as short-term travelers, international students, temporary workers, or permanent immigrants. Beyond setting quotas and outlining which characteristics are most important in immigrant selection, visa policy also has a public diplomacy aspect, with visa facilitation, for example, serving as a sign of the strength of bilateral relations. The research here examines the permutations of visa policy around the world.

Recent Activity

Reports July 2020 Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency By Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter	Articles July 28, 2020 Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels By Muzaffar Chishti, Sarah Pierce, and Kira Olsen-Medina
Commentaries June 2020 USCIS Budget Implosion Owes to Far More than the Pandemic By Sarah Pierce and Doris Meissner	Articles June 11, 2020 Cuban Immigrants in the United States By Brittany Blizzard and Jeanne Batalova
Articles June 5, 2020 A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers By Rebeca Raijman	Articles May 29, 2020 The U.S. Stands Alone in Explicitly Basing Coronavirus-Linked Immigration Restrictions on Economic Grounds By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
Commentaries May 2020 The Rocky Road to a Mobile World after COVID-19 By Meghan Benton	Articles May 1, 2020 Under Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Europe Feels the Pinch from Slowed Intra-EU Labor Mobility By Monica Andriescu

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Reports January 2011 Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States: Reflections on Future Directions for Reform By Harry J. Holzer	Reports October 2010 Migration and Immigrants Two Years after the Financial Collapse: Where Do We Stand? By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption and Aaron Terrazas
Reports September 2010 Still an Hourglass? Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs By Randy Capps and Michael Fix	Reports June 2010 The Impact of Immigrants in Recession and Economic Expansion By Giovanni Peri
Books April 2010 Securing Human Mobility in the Age of Risk: New Challenges for Travel, Migration, and Borders By Susan Ginsburg	Reports January 2010 The UK's New Europeans: Progress and Challenges Five Years After Accession By Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville
Reports July 2009 Aligning Temporary Immigration Visas with U.S. Labor Market Needs: The Case for a New System of Provisional Visas By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Doris Meissner, Marc R. Rosenblum and Madeleine Sumption	Books May 2009 Talent, Competitiveness and Migration

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Top Ten

December 20, 2017

Under Trump Administration, United States Takes Steps to Narrow Legal Immigration

During its first year, the Trump administration methodically put in place a series of bureaucratic barriers that could significantly reduce opportunities for foreigners to come to the United States legally. Among the actions taken during 2017: Imposition of a much-challenged travel ban suspending the entry of nationals from certain Muslim-majority countries, cuts to refugee admissions, and increased scrutiny for visa applicants.

Top Ten

December 11, 2017

Despite Progress on Brexit Negotiations, Fate of Millions of EU and UK Nationals Still Hangs in the Balance

As Brexit negotiations move forward, the issue of the future rights for EU nationals resident in the United Kingdom and UK nationals living on the continent has emerged as a sticking point. Though negotiators in early December 2017 agreed to a skeletal deal on citizens' rights, countless details remain to be worked out, leaving the future of some 4 million people unresolved—with implications for them, their families, employers, and others.

Top Ten

December 7, 2017

In Latin America, Spike in Migrant Arrivals Prompts Flurry of Responses

Migration surged throughout South America in 2017, challenging governments to keep up with inflows. Brazil, Colombia, and Peru worked to process record numbers of Venezuelan asylum applications, and launched special visa programs for some new arrivals. While the government responses have been largely welcoming, the illegal immigration of Haitians provoked more restrictive policy reactions in Chile and Argentina.

Spotlight

November 9, 2017

Cuban Immigrants in the United States

Owing to their uniquely preferential treatment under U.S. immigration law, Cubans for decades have been among the largest immigrant groups in the United States. In 2016, nearly 1.3 million Cubans lived in the United States. This Spotlight provides a data snapshot of this immigrant group, which is highly concentrated in Florida, significantly older than the overall U.S. population, and less likely to be proficient in English.

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Feature

September 20, 2017

Millionaire Emigration: The Allure of Investor Visas among China’s Elite

Over the past decade, immigrant investor programs have proliferated around the world, and Chinese applicants have dominated in a number of countries. In 2015, about 9,000 Chinese millionaires moved to other countries, many through so-called golden visa programs. This article explores the social and cultural factors driving well-off Chinese to move abroad and examines perceptions of elite emigration in China.

Recent Activity

Commentaries

October 2023

Addressing the Next Displacement Crisis in the Making in the Americas

The next major displacement of people in the Americas is in the making, and it is going unnoticed. The response to the steady emigration from Haiti seen since a devastating 2010 earthquake has been largely haphazard and may not stand the test of new spikes as the country unravels further. This commentary suggests a way forward, based on a model used for the Venezuelan displacement crisis.

Expert Q&A, Audio

August 24, 2023

Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Commentaries

July 2023

Canada's New Tech Talent Strategy Takes Aim at High-Skilled Immigrants in the United States

Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy is highly unusual for its explicit targeting of visa holders in another country. Opening a dedicated stream specifically for high-skilled immigrants in the United States who hold an H-1B visa is the latest salvo in a growing global competition for talent—one in which some countries are racing ahead of the United States in terms of policy dynamism, as this commentary explores.

Articles

June 6, 2023

In Canada’s French-Speaking Quebec, Immigration Sparks Anxieties about Language and Identity

Canada's ambitions to dramatically increase immigration have met resistance in Quebec, the country's only majority-French province, where many worry their identity is under threat. Provincial officials have sought to fortify the role of the French language in society through academic, immigration, and linguistic policies, but the language nonetheless faces demographic threats, as this article explains.

Expert Q&A, Audio

May 23, 2023

The Curious Case of China – What Does the COVID-19 Response by China & Asia Pacific Mean for Future Public Health Crises?

MPI's Lawrence Huang discusses COVID-19 mobility restrictions in China and the Asia Pacific—and what this all means for future public health crises—with Dr. Karen Grépin, a health policy professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Reports

May 2023

Apuesta por la regularidad migratoria: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe frente a la crisis del desplazamiento venezolano

Los países de América Latina y el Caribe han aprovechado, de manera pragmática, una variedad de herramientas políticas para otorgar estatus legal a al menos la mitad de los más de 6 millones de venezolanos desplazados en la región. Este informe explora hasta qué punto los venezolanos desplazados han podido obtener un estatus legal en los 15 principales países receptores, su acceso al mercado laboral y a servicios públicos, y dónde persisten brechas.

Reports

May 2023

Betting on Legality: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to the Venezuelan Displacement Crisis

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have pragmatically tapped a variety of policy tools to provide legal status to at least half and as many as two-thirds of the more than 6 million displaced Venezuelans in the region. This report explores the extent to which Venezuelans have been able to obtain legal status in the top 15 host countries, their access to labor markets and public services, and where gaps remain.

Articles

April 11, 2023

El Cambio de los Patrones y Políticas Migratorios en las Américas

Los países de América Latina y el Caribe están siendo transformados por crisis políticas y económicas, nuevos acuerdos de libre circulación y otras tendencias. La cantidad de inmigrantes que viven en la región casi se ha duplicado desde 2010, un cambio increíble en un corto período de tiempo. Este artículo da sentido a una profunda transición en curso en el hemisferio occidental.

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