U.S. Immigration Policy and Intimate Governance: How Immigrant Women in Professional Occupations Navigate Visa-Related Constraints

• In Event: 30814 - Gender Dynamics of Immigration

Abstract

Objective: This study examines how U.S. immigration policies shape the family and work experiences of immigrant women in professional occupations.

Background: Rising international migration and globalization of the labor market have increased reliance on immigrant workers in sectors like technology. Prior research has shown the stratifying effects of immigration policy in domains such as work and family for undocumented, mixed-status, and separated immigrant families. This study extends the intimate governance perspective to investigate the impacts of immigration policy on immigrants in professional occupations, which are empirically underexplored.

Method: This study uses data from 50 in-depth interviews with women in the tech sector, including 30 immigrants from India and China and 20 U.S.-born women. Interviews covered life histories, migration, employment, family, and future plans.

Results: Participants conveyed that immigration policies impose constraints and uncertainties across employment, relationships, family formation, and caregiving. Specific constraints included prolonged processing times, unknown outcomes, temporary statuses, employment restrictions, and family-related stipulations.

Conclusion: The findings delineate how contemporary immigration policy functions as a form of intimate governance, uncovering how the state governs noncitizens’ private lives and linking the macro-level framework to its micro-level manifestations. They suggest that policies outside “family policy” profoundly contribute to gender and within-gender inequalities based on nativity. The findings advance understanding of the temporal dimensions of migration and uncertainty in life course decision-making.

Author

• Kelsi Caywood, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor