Proposed reform of the H-1B programme under Trump administration and the adverse selection in Green Card applications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Abstract
The dialogue of major reform in immigration laws along with increase in rejection of H-1B petitioners since the start of the Trump administration may make employers find H-1B renewal becoming more difficult and costly for low-end positions and less-educated employees. Using the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) application data, this article examines the impact of the recent threat of immigration reform on the share of entry-level positions and petitioners with no college degree in Green Card applications. We found evidence that entry-level positions and applicants without a college degree became more heavily represented among new PERM applications after 2016, even when a trend and occupations were accounted for. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that employers face stronger incentive to retain workers and sponsor their PERM applications since H-1B renewal will likely become more difficult and costly for low-end positions and less-educated workers.
Publication Title
Applied Economics Letters
Volume
28
Issue
5
First Page
378
Last Page
382
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/13504851.2020.1753878
ISSN
13504851
E-ISSN
14664291
Citation Information
Chiradip Chatterjee & Chung-Ping A. Loh (2021) Proposed reform of the H-1B programme under Trump administration and the adverse selection in Green Card applications, Applied Economics Letters, 28:5, 378-382, DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2020.1753878