Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2026

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Program

Women's and Gender Studies

Advisor

Jean Halley

Subject Categories

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Keywords

Gender and Immigration, O-3 Visa, Racialized immigration systems, Brazil–United States migration, Labor and knowledge devaluation

Abstract

This thesis lives in the borderlands between Brazil and the United States, during the nine years of my immigration to the United States. Using autoethnography, I analyze the O-3 visa as a tool that controls and alienates foreign women and devalues knowledge produced outside U.S. borders. This visa, for spouse or children of O-1 holders, which are people considered to have extraordinary abilities to work in the U.S. showcases the reasons why one is invited to be part of the national family and under what obligations and circumstances. A decision that is shaped far more by the interests of the market than by the well-being of people. Reflecting on my own oppressions and privileges within the U.S. immigration system, I narrate the story of my divorce, and show how the O-3 visa places women in positions of financial, physical and emotional vulnerability. Addressing the hardships of finding a job after living under the O-3, I explain the cost for both women, whose knowledge is devalued, and for the country, that fails to benefit from their labor and expertise for xenophobic and racist reasons. I also analyze the neocolonial relationship between Brazil and the United States that prevented me from foreseeing the hardships I would encounter on this side of the border. Finally, this thesis aims to debunk the hypocritical claim that the United States is acceptive of immigrants as long as they arrive legally, since visas such as the O-3 allow people to enter the country but prevent them from living a autonomous, economically stable, and dignified life.

Download

Share

COinS