history

4/12/2018 The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration | American Immigration Council

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration 1/5

Home (/) » Research (/topics)

(https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org)

March 14, 2013

FACT SHEET

The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration

Since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965, legal immigration to the United

States has been based primarily on the family ties or the work skills of prospective immigrants. Under

the provisions of current immigration law

(http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1306.html), the family-based immigration

category allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or “green card” holders, to bring

certain family members to the United States. There are 480,000 family-based visas available every

year. Family-based immigrants are admitted to the U.S. either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through the family preference system.

The contributions of family-based immigrants to the U.S. economy, local communities, and the

national fabric are manifold. They account for a signi�cant portion of domestic economic growth,

contribute to the well-being of the current and future labor force, play a key role in business

development and community improvement, and are among the most upwardly mobile segments of

the labor force. This fact sheet provides an overview of the economic and social advantages

associated with family-based immigration. In particular, it highlights the direct bene�ts resulting from

the participation of family-based immigrants in the labor force, their contributions to the community,

and the key—yet often underestimated—value of the unpaid care work provided by immigrant

women.

4/12/2018 The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration | American Immigration Council

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration 2/5

1. Families are crucial to the social and economic incorporation of newcomers. Because of the overall lack of explicit public policies for the integration of new immigrants, families

and ethnic communities have traditionally acted, together with the workplace, as powerful integrating

institutions. In particular, ethnic communities and families operate as sources of critical resources for newcomers, including opportunities for employment, access to credit, and di�erent kinds of support.

In other words, when newcomers arrive on a family-based visa, they have resources readily available

to help them navigate the system and become employed or start their own businesses.

2. Family-based immigration has a positive impact on business development and community improvement. Family ties facilitate the formation of immigrant communities which, in turn, o�er a fertile

environment for the development of businesses. In this regard, “case-study evidence �nds that

extended immigrant families and close-knit immigrant communities ease the economic assimilation

of new immigrants and promote investment in U.S. human capital as well as the formation of

businesses.”

Many of the most outstanding high technology �rms have been created by foreign-born

entrepreneurs. In Silicon Valley, icon of high-tech innovation, more than half of new companies were

started by immigrants, many of whom came to the country on family-based visas. As Rep. Zoe Lofgren

(D-Calif.) asserted (http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/281229-house-republicans-

place-priority-on-immigration-�x-for-high-skilled-workers) during a House Judiciary Committee

hearing, "I often say I am glad that Google is in Mountain View rather than Moscow. Like eBay, Intel

and Yahoo!, Google was founded by an immigrant. But it’s worth noting that none of the founders of

these companies came to the U.S. because of their skills."

Because they recognize the value that immigrant families may have in the revitalization of rundown

neighborhoods, local governments in several cities—including Baltimore

(http://immigrationimpact.com/2012/11/30/immigrants-may-hold-the-key-to-urban-renewal-in-

baltimore/), Boston (http://www.cityofboston.gov/newbostonians/), Detroit

(http://www.globaldetroit.com/), and Dayton (http://www.welcomedayton.org/)—have launched

programs designed to attract immigrants and promote their economic potential. In fact, so called

“ethnic neighborhoods” (e.g., Little Italy, Chinatown) have long been used in revitalization strategies in

most major American cities.

3. Immigrants who come to the country on a family- based visa tend to move up the socio-economic ladder.

4/12/2018 The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration | American Immigration Council

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration 3/5

The initial di�erences in earnings between family-based and employment-based immigrants tend to

narrow dramatically over time. Despite concerns about the supposedly lower productivity of kinship-

based immigrants in the U.S. labor market, it has been shown that “nonoccupation-based

immigration, most of which is family-based, is associated with lower entry earnings but higher

earnings growth than occupation-based immigration. The higher estimated earnings growth is

su�cient for nonoccupation-based immigrants to catch up with occupationally admitted immigrants

after eleven to eighteen years in the United States.”

New immigrants—the majority of whom enter the United States on family visas—have become the most upwardly mobile of American workers. This is explained by their high rates of post-immigration human capital investment. This bene�ts not only immigrants, but also the economy at large.

4. Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who immigrate under the family fourth-preference visa category tend to experience high rates of self-employment and high earnings growth. Empirical research on the economic bene�ts of immigrants admitted as siblings of U.S. citizens has

shown that there are not only humanitarian, but economic reasons to keep this category. In

particular, fourth-preference admissions are positively associated with immigrant self-employment.

Immigrants who are admitted as siblings of U.S. citizens tend also to have higher initial earnings than

family-admitted immigrants in general. In addition, immigrant group with higher fourth-preference

admissions appear to experience higher earnings growth over time. These results further suggest that

any proposal to remove the sibling admission category would be counter-productive.

5. Family admissions are critical for the “care economy,” which is fundamental for the well-being of household members, helps sustain the current and future workforce, and facilitates women’s labor force participation.

Unpaid health and child care provided in the household largely by immigrant women

contribute to the physical, cognitive, and emotional development of household members.

Those contributions are instrumental not only to individual well-being, but also to the

human development of the country.

Because unpaid household and community activities are performed outside the market,

they are largely invisible in economic statistics. Groups such as the Pan American Health

Organization and the International Labour Organization have highlighted the importance of

4/12/2018 The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration | American Immigration Council

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration 4/5

Moving away from the false “brain versus blood” dichotomy

Family and skill-based immigration should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. In fact, if a less family-

friendly admission policy were to be adopted, the United States might become less attractive to highly

skilled immigrants, who also have families. As economist Harriet Duleep has noted:

“Family visas are…an important complement to high-skilled visas; skilled

immigrants have families too. In considering which country to move to, will

an emigrating scientist be more likely to move to a country where his family

members, including siblings, parents, and adult children, can also live, or to

a country where only certain family members are welcome? Would Einstein

have continued to live in the U.S. had he not been able to bring over his

sister Maja? A family-friendly policy may be one reason the U.S. has been

able to attract immigrants with stellar quali�cations.”

The concept of family reuni�cation is deeply rooted in American values. However, the positive

implications of family-based immigration are not only humanitarian, but also economic.

recognizing the role of unpaid work in the household and the community.

Immigrant women who perform their work in the domestic sphere help sustain the current

workforce, raise the future workforce, care for the elderly and sick, and play a critical role in

household well-being. Their contributions to the economy are, therefore, not only

immediate, but will be felt in the future.

The economic value of unpaid work performed by immigrants represents a very large

portion of the gross domestic product. In particular, “the statistics on time use in di�erent

countries suggest that unpaid work contributes to well-being, human capacity building, and

long‑term economic growth, while accounting for the highest number of working hours, which may represent over 50 percent of the gross domestic product.”

Immigrant women’s participation in the labor force is facilitated by the presence in the

home of other relatives. In other words, when other family members (such as parents or

siblings) can take care of everyday household needs, women are more likely to participate

in the labor market. Family-admitted immigrants who can provide care for the children or

the elderly at home are, therefore, a valuable asset for women who work for a salary.

4/12/2018 The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration | American Immigration Council

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration 5/5

1331 G St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C., 20005 | 202-507-7500 Copyright American Immigration Council. All rights reserved. Photo Credits (/content/photo-credits) | Sitemap (/sitemap)