Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7699
Authors: Jennifer Hunt
Abstract: Using the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates, I examine how immigrants perform relative to natives in activities likely to increase U.S. productivity, according to the type of visa on which they first entered the United States. Immigrants who first entered on a student/trainee visa or a temporary work visa have a large advantage over natives in wages, patenting, commercializing or licensing patents, and publishing. In general, this advantage is explained by immigrants' higher education and field of study, but this is not the case for publishing, and immigrants are more likely to start companies than natives with similar education. Immigrants without U.S. education and who arrived at older ages suffer a wage handicap, which offsets savings to the United States from their having completed more education abroad. Immigrants who entered with legal permanent residence do not outperform natives for any of the outcomes considered.
Keywords: entrepreneurship; immigration; innovation; visa type; wages
JEL Codes: J24; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Immigrants on student-trainee or temporary work visas (K37) | Wages advantage over natives (J31) |
| Immigrants on student-trainee or temporary work visas (K37) | Patenting advantage over natives (O34) |
| Immigrants on student-trainee or temporary work visas (K37) | Commercializing or licensing patents advantage over natives (O34) |
| Immigrants on student-trainee or temporary work visas (K37) | Publishing advantage over natives (A19) |
| Higher levels of education and specific fields of study (I23) | Wages advantage of immigrants over natives (J31) |
| Immigrants without US education and older age at arrival (J69) | Wage disadvantage (J31) |
| Immigrants with legal permanent residence (K37) | No performance advantage over natives (J15) |
| Immigrants as postdoctoral fellows and medical residents (K37) | Highest performance metrics (C52) |
| Immigrants as dependents of temporary visa holders (K37) | Worse performance than natives (J15) |
| Immigrants (F22) | More likely to start companies than natives (L26) |
| Entry visa type (Z38) | Determines success of immigrants in US labor market (J61) |