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How Restricted is the Job Mobility of Skilled Temporary Work Visa Holders?

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  • Jennifer Hunt
  • Bin Xie

Abstract

Using the National Survey of College Graduates, we investigate the job mobility of skilled workers holding U.S. temporary visas. Such workers either have legal restrictions on their ability to change employers or may be reluctant to leave an employer who has sponsored them for permanent residence. We find that the voluntary job‐changing rate is similar for temporary work visa holders and natives with similar characteristics, but that it spikes when temporary work visa holders obtain permanent residence. The spike magnitude implies mobility is reduced during the application period by about 20 percent, alleviating concerns that employers exercise strong monopsony power.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Hunt & Bin Xie, 2019. "How Restricted is the Job Mobility of Skilled Temporary Work Visa Holders?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(1), pages 41-64, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:38:y:2019:i:1:p:41-64
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.22110
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. How Restricted is the Job Mobility of Skilled Temporary Work Visa Holders?
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2017-08-11 17:40:46

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    Cited by:

    1. Sharma, Rishi & Sparber, Chad, 2020. "Buying Lottery Tickets for Foreign Workers: Search Cost Externalities Induced by H-1B Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 13892, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Arellano-Bover, Jaime & San, Shmuel, 2023. "The Role of Firms and Job Mobility in the Assimilation of Immigrants: Former Soviet Union Jews in Israel 1990–2019," IZA Discussion Papers 16389, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kahn, Shulamit & MacGarvie, Megan, 2020. "The impact of permanent residency delays for STEM PhDs: Who leaves and why," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(9).
    4. Patrick S. Turner, 2022. "High‐Skilled Immigration and the Labor Market: Evidence from the H‐1B Visa Program," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 92-130, January.
    5. Stephen G. Dimmock & Jiekun Huang & Scott J. Weisbenner, 2022. "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your High-Skilled Labor: H-1B Lottery Outcomes and Entrepreneurial Success," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6950-6970, September.
    6. William R. Kerr, 2020. "The Gift of Global Talent: Innovation Policy and the Economy," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-37.
    7. Amior, Michael & Stuhler, Jan, 2023. "Immigration, Monopsony and the Distribution of Firm Pay," IZA Discussion Papers 16692, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Bin Xie, 2024. "Can high‐skilled immigrants transfer their human capital to the United States?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 90(4), pages 1002-1034, April.
    9. Tino, Stephen, 2025. "Labour market power, firm productivity, and the immigrant-native pay gap," CLEF Working Paper Series 88, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    10. Breschi, Stefano & Lawson, Cornelia & Lissoni, Francesco & Morrison, Andrea & Salter, Ammon, 2020. "STEM migration, research, and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(9).
    11. Sharma, Rishi R. & Sparber, Chad, 2024. "Buying lottery tickets for foreign workers: Lost quota rents induced by H-1B policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    12. Michael Coon & Miao Chi, 2019. "Visa Wait Times and Future Earnings: Evidence from the National Survey of College Graduates," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 43-61, June.
    13. Alan Manning, 2021. "Monopsony in Labor Markets: A Review," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(1), pages 3-26, January.
    14. Jason Richwine, 2022. "Skill deficits among foreign-educated immigrants: Evidence from the U.S. PIAAC," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(8), pages 1-19, August.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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