Highly Skilled US Immigrants are Emigrating: What’s the deal?

Filed Under Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Original Essays and Analysis, Xenophobia and Immigration by Rachel

I think it’s fair to say that immigration has long been positive contributors to the US economy. In recent years, highly skilled immigrants have filled high demand jobs in science, technology, and health care related fields. Many of these immigrants have attended US universities and have advanced degrees. They are relatively well positioned in US society, so why would they leave?

According to Vivek Wadhwa in this article from business Week, the pull to emigrate (Remember emmigration with an “E” means exit.) back to their countries of origin has several origins. The researchers on Wadhwa’s team, surveyed Chinese and Indian emmigrants. Some reasons given were personal and cultural,

Returnees cited language barriers, missing their family and friends at home, difficulty with cultural assimilation, and care of parents and children as key issues.

Another factor for the return was bureaucratic barriers that visa seekers faced in the US.

However, there were several pull factors that lead emmigrants to feel they would have more opportunities in their countries of origin:

Eighty-seven percent of Chinese and 79% of Indians said a strong factor in their original decision to return home was the growing demand for their skills in their home countries. Their instincts generally proved right. Significant numbers moved up the organization chart. Among Indians the percentage of respondents holding senior management positions increased from 10% in the U.S. to 44% in India, and among Chinese it increased from 9% in the U.S. to 36% in China. Eighty-seven percent of Chinese and 62% of Indians said they had better opportunities for longer-term professional growth in their home countries than in the U.S. Additionally, nearly half were considering launching businesses and said entrepreneurial opportunities were better in their home countries than in the U.S.

The researchers don’t mention discrimination here in the US as a factor, but these statistics don’t preclude it as a possibility. In previous studies, many Asian Americans, from both immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds have reported difficulties in promotions. These difficulties can be related to immigration status, ethnicity, or race.

Given the terrible state of the economy, I wonder if the sacrifice of leaving one’s culturel and family isn’t being offset by financial rewards here in the US. I’ve also read recent reports about a decline in remittances sent to Mexico and other countries. This could mean either immigrants are living here but keeping money for themselves and/or immigrants are returning to their home countries. Then again, these trends may have been happening even without the economic down turn since the economies in places like India and CHina are rapidly expanding.

Comments

5 Responses to “Highly Skilled US Immigrants are Emigrating: What’s the deal?”

Ali on March 4th, 2009 11:08 am

If Asian immigrants face “discrimination”, it’s of the kind that favors disadvantaged minorities such as African-Americans and Hispanics. Asians, for example, would have far more spaces in American colleges and universities based on pure merit than they do–if these schools weren’t concerned about maintaining a racial balance.

Even then, Asians still tend to do better than other ethnic/racial groups including whites as far as education and income.

As for the comment about remittances–Mexicans and other Latin Americans tend to enter either illegally or under family reunification and aren’t particularly skilled or educated as a rule.
Adam on March 4th, 2009 2:47 pm

Where I am at I am seeing the economic squeeze causing contracts to not be renewed with many workers from the far east. I am seeing many people return home (involuntarily).

On a broader note, China and India happen to be some of our largest creditors. Our ability to fund the “Stimulus” packages hinges on their willingness to buy our T-Bills and Bonds. If our foreign creditors get tired of doing this, we may see Dutch or Swedish style income taxation along with double digit interest rates on everything.
laoma on March 9th, 2009 5:36 pm

I have been surprised by the paucity of work done in the sociology of work concerning the damage to professional, white collar wokers in IT. Though outsourcing and the decimation of other American industries has been well-documented and studied, it seems that the IT is taboo.

“immigration has long been positive contri-butors to the US economy.” No one begrudges immigraants or should not, but to suggest that the vast number of Indian IT workers came as ‘immigrants’ completely obfuscates the issue of corporate and government responsibility for opening the doors for unneeded work visas. Displacing and destabilizing large swaths of the middle class for decades has helped to create the financial crisis now. In fact, reports are pouring in the many of the banks aaisted with tax-payer monies are firing US citizens and trying to hire cheaper, outsourced labor all the while still paying premium bonues to execs. Why not just outsource execs to begin with?

In short, the issue in this post is much more complex than the article suggested.
jed on March 10th, 2009 10:15 pm

Those returning to India and China all share a valuable trait, a deeper understanding of many facets of american culture and its language.
Victor on May 5th, 2009 1:53 pm

I think the poster “laoma” hits on a very good point. Although not directly related to the crux of the article, i too find it curious at the lack of research committed to the effects of the importation of high skilled labor. laoma also hits on a very good point as to how this new wave “immigrants” are corporate sponsored and vastly differ from previous historical waves of “immigrants”.

And to the original poster Ali, i think your biased perception of Asians/Indians with respect to indigenous minorities shows a lack of knowledge on your part.

The overwhelming majority of Asians/Indians who are employed in high skilled jobs represent the cream of their respective nations, and are in no way representative of the skill sets, education, and knowledge of the entire Chinese/Indian population.

If anything Chinese/Indians highly skilled or not would actually benefit from positive discrimination, or the belief that their ethnicity is a reflection of their individual intellect and ability.