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NSF PR 97-55 - September 15, 1997
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Immigrant Study Provides New Insights
Legal immigrants are more educated as a group than
native-born U.S citizens, according to a just-released
survey of new immigrants.
This news is among many valuable findings about an
increasingly important group in American society.
The findings come from a new comprehensive survey
funded by the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development with support from the Immigration
and Naturalization Service and the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
"In perhaps no other area of public policy is there
such a large gap between information needs and existing
data," says Mark R. Rosenzweig, an economist at the
University of Pennsylvania. He and fellow researchers
at Penn, New York University and Rand Corp. have set
out to close the fact gap with a pilot study that
gathers hard data on an elusive subject.
Among the study's preliminary findings:
- Legal immigrants are better schooled, on average,
than the native-born U.S. population. Median years
of schooling completed among those aged 25 and
up is 13 years, a full year higher than among
the native-born. On the other hand, more than
twice as many legal immigrants (19.5 percent)
as native-born U.S. residents have completed fewer
than nine years of schooling.
- New legal immigrants are considerably better
schooled than indicated by the U.S. Census, which
does not distinguish between legal immigrants
and other foreign-born, such as illegal migrants.
This is especially true for immigrants born in
Mexico - the largest source of legal and illegal
immigrants to the U.S. The researchers believe
that the proportion of college graduates among
the Mexico-born legal immigrants is more than
twice the 1990 Census figure.
- Initial earnings of new legal immigrant men are
lower on average than earnings of all U.S. native-born
men; among women, however, the initial earnings
of new immigrants are higher than those of the
native-born.
- New male and female immigrants initially experience
a substantial economic gain on average, compared
to earnings in their last job abroad. However,
a quarter of this group actually saw an initial
drop in earnings.
- The immigrants' gain in annual earnings in their
new country is highest (over $27,000) among those
admitted to fill skilled jobs. However, there
is also a substantial economic gain to marrying
a U.S. citizen: in the case of men, $9,140 annually.
- The major mechanism by which illegals acquire
an immigrant visa is marriage to a U.S. citizen:
almost 40 percent of formerly illegal immigrants
in the sample were admitted to permanent residence
status as spouses of U.S. citizens; 26 percent
of immigrants who entered the U.S. with proper
documentation did so through marriage.
Along with Rosenzweig, the research team for the New
Immigrant Survey Pilot Study: Preliminary Results
are: Guillermina Jasso, New York University; Douglas
Massey, University of Pennsylvania; and James P. Smith,
Rand Corp. The researchers intend to continue interviewing
immigrants, analyzing data and publishing their findings
over the next few years.
Editors: For a copy of the results of the New
Immigrant Survey, call NSF's Office of Legislative
and Public Affairs: (703) 306-1070.
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