The Politics of Skilled Immigration in the United States

Immigration policy in the U.S. has been a prominent research topic recently, but thus far congressional policy on the H-1B visa has not been studied in-depth. A non-immigrant visa, H-1B allows foreign workers to be temporarily employed in the U.S. This project examines the congressional politics associated with skilled foreign workers and the H1-B specifically, and with congressional immigration reform more generally.

The Politics of Skilled Immigration in the United States explains the failure of both comprehensive immigration reform in the 2000s and the failure of skilled worker immigration-related legislation introduced subsequent to comprehensive reform between 2006 and 2008 by using strategic disagreement game theory. The book also examines the lack of any successful legislation after 2008 to date. As both an immigration attorney and political scientist, Maryam Stevenson brings a unique perspective with which to examine the problems of the current system. She explains why legislation has failed (and continues to fail), the effect comprehensive immigration reform has had on that legislation, and the effect the media has had on the failure of the legislation. Stevenson concludes by providing insight into policy recommendations that have previously been considered by Congress that failed, and discusses policies that Congress should currently be considering.

Studies of congressional behavior on immigrant visas are premature without also looking at congressional behavior on nonimmigrant visas as well. This book fills the research gap on nonimmigrant visa policy and will be relevant for both practitioners and scholars of immigration policy.