Temporary Migrant Workers or Immigrants? The Question for U.S. Labor Migration

Abstract

Employment-based U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant work visa data from 1987 to 2017 show that the number of permanent immigrant work visas has remained relatively constant over time but that the number of temporary work visas has increased sharply. That is, the labor migration system has shifted from one in which permanent immigrant workers annually made up approximately 20 percent of new migrant workers to one in which they make up less than 10 percent. Major legislative reforms do not explain the change; this article examines available government data showing how the labor migration system involves mostly nonimmigrant, temporary migrant workers who have few options to remain permanently in the United States and raises questions about the implications for the future legal landscape of immigration.

Keywords

• immigration
• labor migration
• visas
• work visas
• lawful permanent residents
• employment-based
• family-based
• green cards
• immact90
• immigration reform
• guestworkers
• temporary migrant workers
• temporary labor migration