The Immigration of Asian Professionals to the United States: 1988–1990

Abstract

This article examines recent flows of Asian professionals to the United States based on the Immigration and Naturalization Service data for the fiscal years 1988–1990. Three specific dimensions of the Asian migration stream were investigated, namely, size, composition and mode of entry. The results show that Asians emerge as a dominant group in the immigration of all professionals. An examination of mode of entry indicates an existing demand for foreign professionals of certain occupational backgrounds in the U.S. labor market. Engineers and computer scientists represent this pattern as reflected by a heavy usage of the occupational preferences to enter the host country. Adjustment of status from temporary visas appears to be a common strategy. By contrast, health professionals were more likely to be admitted through kinship ties and the majority are new arrivals. The argument that the outflow of the highly trained Asians is simply a matter of migration and education is not fully supported by the data.