Abstract
Indian and Chinese nationals comprise two of the largest foreign-born nationality groups in the United States, and are growing rapidly. Indian and Chinese immigrants tend to enter the United States through skilled migration channels—either pursuing further education or entering on temporary work visas for specialty occupations—and go on to enjoy higher employment rates and higher median household incomes than the US-born population. Despite these successes, these groups still face some integration challenges, such as cultural integration and English language proficiency. Immigrant integration services in the United States are relatively decentralised, with crucial services provided by a wide array of actors. Federal funds are usually directed and supplemented by state and local government actors, who then work closely with civil society organisations, including Indian and Chinese diaspora groups, to provide support in areas such as social services, language training, credential recognition and naturalization assistance. Meanwhile, India and China are starting to expand their diaspora engagement activities to include integration services at destination.
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Notes
- 1.
This paper focuses on foreign-born (so-called first-generation) immigrants unless otherwise stated.
- 2.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden all have dedicated national offices or ministries for immigrant integration.
- 3.
The federal government funds and coordinates refugee and asylee programs, before they are then implemented by state, local, or civil society actors.
- 4.
Approximately 2.03 million people of Indian birth and 2.02 million immigrants of Chinese birth resided in the United States, each constituting 4.9% of the United States’ foreign-born population, respectively. Estimates are based on MPI analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 ACS and the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Censuses. Unless otherwise stated, estimates for the Chinese population include Hong Kong but exclude Taiwan.
- 5.
California is home to 350,000 Indian immigrants, New Jersey is home to 210,000 Indian immigrants, and Texas is home to 165,000 Indian immigrants. In contrast, California is home to 700,000 Chinese immigrants, and New York is home to 435,000 Chinese immigrants.
- 6.
Unless otherwise noted, data in this section come from MPI analysis of data obtained from DHS, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, (Washington, DC: DHS 2013).
- 7.
Of the remaining Indian immigrant population, 9% were aged 65 or older, and 7% were under the age of 18. Though a similar share of Chinese immigrants and the U.S. general public were aged 65 or older as of 2012 (16 versus 13 percent), far fewer Chinese immigrants were under the age of 18 (7 percent, compared with the U.S. national average of 24 percent).
- 8.
The H-1B visa program—currently capped at 65,000, with up to 20,000 for workers with at least a master’s degree or equivalent, and exemptions for employees of universities, non-profit organisations, and research institutions—enables U.S. firms to hire foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree for specialty occupations that require technical or theoretical expertise (for example, scientists, engineers, and computer programmers). Definition from U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services, “H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Cap Season,” last updated 15 April 2013, http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/h-1b-fiscal-year-fy-2014-cap-season.
- 9.
In 2012, there were 2230 Indian doctoral graduates (15% of all PhDs awarded by U.S. universities to students on a temporary visa). See “Table 25: Top 40 countries or economies of origin, ranked by number of doctorate recipients: 2012,” and “Table 53: Doctorate recipients with temporary visas intending to stay in the United States after doctorate receipt, by country of citizenship: 2006–2012,” in National Science Foundation, Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2012 (Arlington, VA: NSF 2013), http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/2012/data_table.cfm.
- 10.
During the 2012–2013 academic year 40% of Chinese students in the United States were enrolled in an undergraduate program: a 9 percentage point increase from three years prior. Institute of International Education, “Open Doors Fact Sheet: China,” Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange, (New York: Institute of International Education, 2010 and 2013), http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-Country/2010 and http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-Country/2013.
- 11.
Commonly referred to as Green Card holders, people with LPR status have the authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis and are on a path towards naturalization.
- 12.
These figures are taken from the CPS data. In the 2010–2012 ACS data, 46% of Indian immigrants were naturalized U.S. citizens.
- 13.
See, for example, Learn in USA, “Chinese Student Associations in US”, Accessed 25 September, 2014, http://www.learninusa.com/pub/LIT_14.asp.
- 14.
Comments by California State Senator Ricardo Lara at the 11th Immigration Law and Policy Conference held at Georgetown Law, 21 October, 2014.
- 15.
The legal basis for this is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of nationality), and Executive Order 13166 of 2000, which affirmed the applicability of Title VI to language access requirements. Migration Policy Institute, “Frequently Asked Questions on Legal Requirements to Provide Language Access Services,” Accessed 21 March 2014, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/language%C2%A0access-translation-and-interpretation-policies-and-practices/frequently-asked.
- 16.
There were 240,000 Indian LPRs and 280,000 Chinese LPRs eligible to naturalize in 2012; but only 32,000 Indian LPRs and 43,000 Chinese LPRs did so that year. Nancy Rytina, “Estimates of the Legal Permanent Resident Population in 2012,” U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics, Population Estimates, July 2013, http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_lpr_pe_2012.pdf and DHS, Table 21, “Persons Naturalized by Region and Country of Birth, Fiscal Years 2003 to 2012,” http://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-naturalizations.
- 17.
While the U.S. labour market is much more deregulated than in Europe, about a quarter of jobs require certification or licensure; these professions are often regulated at a state, rather than federal, level, with different standards and procedures for getting credentials recognized and obtaining licenses to practise. Rabben 2013: 2.
- 18.
The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, and the Senate India Caucus.
- 19.
See, for example, the India Association of Western Washington, whose mission statement reads: “To provide a common identity to the Indian community and facilitate cultural, social and educational services and opportunities for cultural integration from young to old of the community; as well as to foster those activities that enhance mutual understanding and appreciation between the Indo-American community and mainstream American community.” India Association of Western Washington, “About Us: Mission Statement,” Accessed 23 October 2014, https://www.iaww.org/aboutus.
- 20.
MPI calculations from 2010 ACS data, McCabe, “Chinese Immigrants in the United States.”
- 21.
This rate is calculated based on the share of all individuals reporting an occupation for their primary job at the time the CPS was administered, or for their most recent primary job.
- 22.
MPI tabulations of data from the World Bank Prospects Group, “Bilateral Remittance Matrix 2012”.
- 23.
MPI analysis found a notable discrepancy here between immigrants from mainland China, whose median household income was $52,000, and Hong Kong, whose median household income was $75,000. Households headed Hong Kong immigrants were more likely to earn over $90,000 (42%, compared to 34%), and over $140,000 (25%, compared to 17%). However, significantly more of the Hong Kong population was working age (18–64) compared with the mainland China population: 89%, compared with 75%. (Of the mainland Chinese immigrants, 8% was under 18, and 17% was over the age of 65.) Additionally, the Hong Kong population had, on average, been living in the United States for longer (with more time to build up their U.S. earning power): 80% of immigrants from Hong Kong arrived before 2000, compared with 57% of immigrants from mainland China.
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Hooper, K., Groves, S. (2017). A Comparative Analysis of the Migration and Integration of Indian and Chinese Immigrants in the United States. In: Di Bartolomeo, A., Kalantaryan, S., Salamońska, J., Fargues, P. (eds) Migrant Integration between Homeland and Host Society Volume 2. Global Migration Issues, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56370-1_12
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