Vulnerabilities of Highly Skilled Immigrants in Canada and the United States

Abstract

Abstract Despite similar permanent status immigration categories (Economic, Family, and Refugee), the experiences of skilled immigrants in Canada and the United States are quite different. The point system used to select applicants for the Economic Class in Canada makes skilled immigrants vulnerable to a number of perils after the migrant lands. Foreign credentials and work experience are discounted by Canadian employers, who also impose a discriminatory income penalty on minorities. While previous cohorts of Economic Class migrants may have been warned of these perils via reliable migrant networks, new Canadian research suggests that recent cohorts have no such safety net. This article examines the economic integration experiences of Economic Class migrants in the United States in light of the Canadian experiences. The vulnerabilities reported in Canada do not appear to be transferable to the United States, because immigration policy in the US stresses pre-landing employment commitments via employer sponsorship. Accordingly, prospective Economic Class migrants to the United States do not migrate without first knowing how their credentials and "minority status" will affect employment opportunities. However, for the 85,000 skilled workers admitted to the United States on H-1B temporary visas each year, the perils noted in the Canadian experience are relevant, as are a number of additional concerns. Keywords: immigrationskilled workersforeign credentialsEconomic Classeconomic integrationdiscrimination Notes 1. The US refers to Family Sponsored, Employment Sponsored, and Refugee and Asylum Seekers as immigration categories or preferences, whereas Canada refers to Economic, Family, and Refugee classes. For ease of reading, this article will use the term Economic "class" for both countries. 2. The Economic Class in Canada and the US is an umbrella category that includes several types of applicants in addition to skilled workers. In Canada, an Economic Class applicant may apply as a skilled worker, a business immigrant, a provincial nominee, or a live-in caregiver. In the US, an Economic Class applicant may apply as a priority worker, professional with an advanced degree, skilled worker or professional without an advanced degree (but with needed skills), investor, or as a special immigrant (ministers, religious workers, and employees of the US government abroad). In 2006, skilled workers in Canada accounted for almost 77 percent of the permanent residents admitted under the Economic Class (CIC 2008 CIC. 2008. Facts and figures 2007 immigration overview: Permanent residents. Citizenship and Immigration Canada. July 2008 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2007/01.asp (Accessed: 6 October 2008). [Google Scholar]), and in the US, skilled workers accounted for approximately 57 percent, and professionals with advanced degrees made up another 14 percent, making a combined total of 70 percent of the employment based admission category (Jefferys and Monger 2008 Jefferys, Kelly, and Randall Monger. 2008. US Legal Permanent Residents 2007, annual flow report. March, 2008. US Department of Homeland Security http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/LPR_FR_2007.pdf (Accessed: 8 October 2008). [Google Scholar]). 3. Relative to the Canadian born, immigrants have a substantial entry penalty. Although their earnings move towards those of the Canadian-born over time, the entry penalty has become increasingly large for more recent immigrant cohorts (Grant and Sweetman 2004 Grant, Hugh and Sweetman, Arthur. 2004. Introduction to economic and urban issues in Canadian immigration policy. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 13(1): 1–25. [Google Scholar]). 4. This article refers to individuals who are given visas to the US as immigrants; however the US deems them non-immigrants. According to the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, an immigrant refers to someone lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence, whereas a non-immigrant refers to someone who seeks temporary entry to the US for a specific purpose. 5. By exploitation, we are referring to workers' rights and the likelihood of taking advantage of workers. This is a universal problem with temporary worker programs because of the inherently unequal relationship between an employer and a worker, under which the worker's ability to stay in the country is dependent on a visa tying him or her to a specific employer. 6. Here, as elsewhere in this article, we are referring to lawful permanent residents (LPRs), as commonly referred to in US Citizenship and Immigration Services. 7. See Schmidt (2007 Schmidt, Ron. 2007. Comparing federal government immigrant settlement policies in Canada and the United States. American Review of Canadian Studies, 37(1): 103–22. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) for a comprehensive comparison of Canadian and US immigration and settlement policy. 8. The target range for economic class increased in 2007 to 141,000–158,000 individuals, while the target for the Family Class for 2007 was much lower at 18,000–19,000. Canada has made continuous attempts to increase economic immigration and simultaneously decrease non-economic immigrants. 9. This criteria of arranged employment parallels the entry requirements in the US. A key difference is that in Canada, arranged employment accounts for only 10 out of a possible 100 points, whereas in the US arranged employment is a mandatory condition for entry as an economic permanent resident. 10. According to Kustec, Thompson, and Xue (2007 Kustec, Stan, Thompson, Eden and Xue, Li. 2007. Foreign credentials: The tool for research. Canadian Issues, Spring: 26–31. [Google Scholar], 28), The Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada was designed to study the process by which new immigrants adapt to or integrate into Canadian society, including the timing of stages of the integration process, as well as the factors that influence integration. By examining newcomers' progress over time toward the fulfillment of a wide range of integration goals, the LSIC allows researchers and policy makers to go beyond existing descriptions of immigrant integration outcomes to an examination of the means by which newcomers achieve these outcomes, and some explanation of these outcomes – in essence, "how" and "why" dimensions. LSIC is based on interviews with newcomers at specific intervals after arrival. 11. The remainder of the respondents either reported that having too little Canadian work experience was an impediment (26 percent), or that they experienced no impediments related to immigration (Kustec, Thompson, and Xue 2007 Kustec, Stan, Thompson, Eden and Xue, Li. 2007. Foreign credentials: The tool for research. Canadian Issues, Spring: 26–31. [Google Scholar], 29). 12. Foreign credentials refer to education (e.g. degrees and diplomas), professional training (e.g. apprenticeships), work experience, and other work-related skills that immigrants bring with them. For a more complete discussion of skills discounting, see Li (2001 Li, Peter. 2001. The market worth of immigrants' educational credentials. Canadian Public Policy, 27: 23–38. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Reitz (2005 Reitz, Jeffrey G. 2005. Tapping immigrants' skills: New directions for immigration policy in the knowledge economy. IRPP Choices, 11(1): 2–18. [Google Scholar]). 13. This is not to say that some foreign earned credentials are not on par, or even of superior quality, with Canadian earned credentials; however Sweetman (2004 Sweetman, Arthur. 2004. Immigrant source country education quality and Canadian labor market outcomes. Statistics Canada Research Paper, 11FF0019m1e No. 234. December 2004 http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/11F0019MIE/11F0019MIE2004234.pdf (Accessed: 20 February 2008). [Google Scholar]), after a thorough review of studies, concludes that some foreign earned credentials are well below Canadian standards. 14. It should be noted that there is currently a great deal of work being done in Canada to address the problem of credential recognition. 15. The term "consumer" is used loosely to include not only consumers of products but also of services such as health care and protection from fraud, safety threats, or incompetence. 16. The jurisdictional problem has been overcome in New Zealand via a centralized Qualification Recognition Service created by the federal state of New Zealand. This body is responsible for providing national and local leadership in establishing the legitimacy and relevance of foreign earned credentials. As in Canada, Economic Class migrants are awarded points for academic and professional achievements; however, unlike in Canada but similar to Australia, potential migrants to New Zealand are awarded points only for accreditations recognized by the provincial bodies before migration so that they are immediately, upon landing, eligible to work in their chosen field. In contrast, an ECM in Canada may be awarded points by the federally governed point system and then, upon landing, wait years, while often undergoing retraining, for provincial bodies to recognize the very same credentials. See Walker (2007 Walker, James. 2007. International approaches to credential assessment. Canadian Issues, Spring: 21–6. [Google Scholar]) for a more developed comparison of Canada's credential recognition system and those of Australia, New Zealand, and the US. 17. The cap was reached in fiscal years 1997 and 1998, so the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act temporarily increased the H-1B cap to 115,000 for fiscal years 1999 and 2000. The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act temporarily raised the cap even further to 195,000 for fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003, while exempting certain H-1B workers from these numerical limits. Starting in fiscal year 2004, the H-1B cap was reduced back to 65,000 per fiscal year. 18. Exemptions come in two forms. H-1B employer exemptions are for those who are employed, or who have received an offer of employment, by institutions of higher education or a related or affiliated non-profit entity, as well as those employed, or who will be employed, by a non-profit research organization or a governmental research organization. H-1B advanced degree exemptions are for foreign workers with a Master's or higher level degree from a US academic institution. For each fiscal year, 20,000 persons who hold such credentials are statutorily exempted from the cap (USCIS 2008 USCIS. 2008. Cap count for H-1B and H-2B workers for fiscal year 2009. USCIS, updated: 29 July 2008 http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=138b6138f898d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD (Accessed: 7 October 2008). [Google Scholar]). 19. In recent years, the H-1B visa cap has been reached the first day that applications are accepted, demonstrating the high demand for skilled temporary workers. 20. The American Competitiveness and Work Force Improvement Act of 1998 requires H-1B employees to receive the same fringe benefits as other workers. 21. Canada's point system has been heralded as a success in its design. Internationally, the Canadian model is seen as one to replicate; however as this article points out, there are many post-migration vulnerabilities for skilled workers because of the misalignment between points awarded for skills and recognition of those skills by Canadian employers.