Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Monica W. Varsanyi

Subject Categories

Immigration Law | Law and Society | Legal Theory

Keywords

Immigration, Sociolegal perspective, STEM, Skilled worker, Discrimination

Abstract

Intense demand for cheap labor in the United States has resulted in a widespread effect of employing high skilled immigrants in STEM fields. Examining how companies use high-skilled visa categories to create a flexible cheaper immigrant workforce, this paper demonstrates that skilled immigrants from Asia are being exploited through neutral skills-based criteria that are de facto racially biased. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of how, from the perspective of law and society, skills-based immigration works primarily to benefit the technological industry rather than skilled immigrants.

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