A new report reveals that US immigrants who got their green cards via the family stream are more likely to have a college degree than native-born US citizens.
The Trump administration has long targeted cutting the family immigration stream in favour of a more targeted merit-based immigration programme. Fears that family immigration brings in too many low-skilled immigrants who don’t benefit the US economy are often given as the reason for Trump’s desire to move away from the current programme.
However, a report carried out by the Castro Institute based on official Census data, found that immigrants who got their green cards based on family relationships or the Diversity Visa are much more likely to have obtained a college or graduate degree than native-born US citizens.
The report found that 48 per cent of Immigrants who arrive through the family stream are likely to have a college degree or higher, compared to 29 per cent of US citizens. However, the percentage of employment-based immigrants who hold a college degree or higher is a far more impressive 92 per cent
What’s more, the average education level of family sponsored immigrants is rising. The report found that 48 per cent of recently arrived immigrants were college graduates, compared to just 27 per cent a quarter-of-a-century earlier.
Immediate relatives of naturalised US citizens are overwhelmingly likely to be working-age (77 per cent), while 13 per cent are children. Therefore, only 10 per cent are of retirement age and so unlikely to work once they arrive to live in the United States.
Article published 27th November 2019