Immigrants from Asia and Canada have more chance of getting a work visa in the United States than those from Latin America, the results of a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University reveal. The study examined a three-year period and discovered that 91% of applications for labor certification from immigrants from Asia were approved, as were 90% of those from Canada; in comparison, just 67% of applications from Latin America were approved.
Acquiring labor certification is a vital aspect of any immigrant’s attempt to receive legal authorization to work in the United States. Department of Labor agents evaluate the current job market in question and decide whether to grant the application based on the impact it would have on working conditions and wages for US workers if the immigrant was employed.
It is against the law to discriminate based on nationality or race and the study took into account other factors that could have skewed the results, including the salaries on offer, the US visa history of applicants, and the inequality that exists in a number of different employment categories.
The big discrepancy in the number of approved applications appeared to disappear when an application was audited by the government, which results in greater agent scrutiny and a need for more documentation to be provided by the applicant. The study implies that stereotypical thinking that Latinos are more likely to commit crime or are less suited to high-skilled jobs could be to blame.