DO IMMIGRANTS SCREENED FOR SKILLS DO BETTER THAN FAMILY REUNIFICATIONIMMIGRANTS

It is sometimes thought that immigrants who are screened for occupatio nal skills are likely to become more productive Americans than immigra nts who gain admission on the basis of family ties to native-born U.S. citizens or to previous immigrants. However, the expected differentia l may be small or nonexistent because: 1) kinship immigrants have acce ss to family networks; 2) whereas employers may screen for short-term productivity, family members may screen for long-term productivity; an d 3) native-born U.S. citizens who sponsor spouses may be particularly adept at screening for long-term success. Longitudinal data on the 19 77 immigrant cohort is used to compare initial and longer-term occupat ional outcomes among employment and kinship immigrants. Results indica te narrowing of the differential, due both to higher rates of occupati onal downgrading among employment immigrants and of occupational upgra ding among kinship immigrants.