Here is an excerpt of this report published by America Immigration Council. For the full report, please click on the link below.

SPECIAL REPORT
By Harriet Duleep, Ph.D., Mark Regets, Ph.D., and Guillermo Cantor, Ph.D

How Family-Based Immigrants Thrive in America

“Much has been debated about family-based immigration and the critical role families play in the adaptation, integration, and wellbeing of newcomers. But some confusion exists regarding the economic aspects of family-based immigration. To help unpack those aspects, this report focuses on one of them— namely, the earnings of family-based immigrants.

EARNINGS GROWTH RESULTS FROM INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL

The inverse relationship between immigrants’ entry earnings and earnings growth suggests that the differences between family-based and employment-based immigration are more nuanced than they might first appear.

Our analysis of 1993−1998 INS public use files and the 2000 decennial census and 2008 American Community Survey indicates that employment-based immigrants initially out-earn family-based immigrants.29 By the very nature of their admission into the country, The Immigrant Success Story: How Family-Based Immigrants Thrive in America I 8 employment-based immigrants are sought out by employers who want workers with highly transferable skills that can be put to use immediately.

30 Family-based immigrants, however, have a higher propensity to invest in new human capital (their own education and training), which translates into higher earnings growth over time compared to employment-based immigrants. 31 Employment-based immigrants enter the United States with skills linked to specific employment.”

Read the full article here