Brain Waste is a Reality

According to a recent study by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), more than 1.3 million college-educated immigrants are unemployed or working in unskilled jobs such as dishwashers, security guards, and taxi drivers. This represents one of every five highly skilled immigrants in the US labor force. Their work in these jobs constitutes a serious waste of human capital - one that can be addressed by both immigrant admission and integration policies.

Though often overlooked amid controversies over unauthorized, low-skilled immigrants, legal immigration channels have produced a steady flow of newcomers with substantial levels of education. As of 2006 there were more than 6.1 million immigrants 25 or older with a bachelor's or higher degree, representing 15.2 percent of all college educated persons in the US civilian labor force. MPI estimates that more than half of these highly skilled immigrants obtained their education prior to migration, so that the United States benefits from schooling investments made elsewhere.

In order to measure the scope of the challenge, MPI examined data from two major sources, the American Community Survey (ACS) and the New Immigrant Survey (NIS). The data enabled them to develop a portrait of the highly skilled immigrants whose skills are underutilized in the US labor market. They also discuss policies and proposals developed both here and abroad that might guide reform in the US context.

Key Findings

Adjusting to a new labor market is not an easy task. Many highly skilled immigrants experience a sharp drop in occupational status when they migrate. How quickly they recover and how far they get depends on a variety of factors:

• English Levels: High-skilled immigrants who had limited English proficiency were twice as likely to work in unskilled jobs that those who were proficient.
• Having a US degree: Legal permanent residents with US college degrees were three times more likely to work in high-skilled jobs than those with a foreign degree.
• Working in the United States prior to permanent settlement: Immigrant status adjusters (i.e., immigrants who receive their permanent residency after spending some time in the United States on temporary nonimmigrant visas) fared especially well.
• Entering under employment visa categories: According to the NIS data on legal permanent residents, high-skilled immigrants admitted under employment visas held higher quality jobs in the US labor market than immigrants in other admission categories, such as family, refugee, and diversity.
• Coming from Europe or Asia: Highly skilled European and Asian immigrants' rates of underutilization approximated those of natives; Latin Americans fared worse. About 44 percent of recent immigrants and 35 percent of long-term immigrants from Latin America were working in unskilled jobs in 2005-2006. African-born skilled immigrants also found themselves at a disadvantage, having the highest unemployment rates of all foreign-born groups.
• Having undocumented status: Skilled Latin Americans' comparatively poor labor market outcomes in both ACS and NIS suggest that legal status only partially explains skill underutilization of this group.