5,281 research outputs found
Latina Women in the United States: Child Care Preferences and Arrangements
Formal child care has been associated with myriad benefits for children, such as improvements in cognitive development and language skills. Immigrant children may derive unique benefits from formal child care, as research has also confirmed that center-based child care is associated with gains in English language proficiency and school readiness. However, immigrant families are less likely than nonimmigrant families to enroll their children in formal child care. Considering the growing immigrant population in the US—a large proportion of which is Latino—more research is needed to understand the child care decision-making processes of immigrant Latino families. The current study examined the previously understudied social and internal factors that may influence the child care preferences and arrangements of immigrant and nonimmigrant Latina women.
The study sample comprised 278 Latina women living in the US. Of these participants, 43% were born in the US and 57% were born outside of the US; 32% were currently pregnant and 68% were parenting at least one child. Participants were recruited from Offerwise’s Hispanic Panel to complete an online survey covering questions related to demographic characteristics, child care preferences and arrangements, social support, perceived quality of child care types, acculturation, and beliefs about maternal employment.
Results demonstrated that immigrant and nonimmigrant Latina participants differed significantly in their beliefs about maternal employment, perceptions of relative child care quality, and levels of acculturation. Multiple regression models of social and internal factors (e.g., social support and importance of trust in a caregiver) predicted relative and center-based child care preference and utilization, although few individual factors significantly predicted these outcomes.
Findings indicate that the child care decision-making process cannot be assumed to be homogenous across Latina immigrant and nonimmigrant women, and that this decision-making process is influenced by social and internal factors. Future research should incorporate concrete, social, and internal factors in models predicting child care preferences and arrangements
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Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation
[Excerpt] Five years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by foreign nationals — including several terrorists on students visas — the security concerns over foreign student visas are being supplanted by competitiveness concerns. Potential foreign students, as well as all aliens, must satisfy Department of State (DOS) consular officers abroad and immigration inspectors upon entry to the United States that they are not ineligible for visas under the so-called “grounds for inadmissibility” of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which include security and terrorist concerns. The consular officers who process visa applicants are required to check the National Counterterrorism Center’s (NCTC) automated lookout systems before issuing any visa. In part because of these security measures, student visa debates have shifted from security to market-based discussions
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Immigration: Visa Security Policies
[Excerpt] The report opens with an overview of visa issuance policy. It then explains the key provisions that guide the documentary requirements and approval/disapproval process. The section on consular screening procedures includes an analysis of trends over time in denying visas. Visa revocation, a reoccurring issue of concern to Congress, and the visa security program are discussed as well
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Visa Waiver Program
Since the events of September 11, 2001, concerns have been raised about the
ability of terrorists to enter the United States under the visa waiver program. The
visa waiver program (VWP) allows nationals from certain countries to enter the
United States as temporary visitors (nonimmigrants) for business or pleasure without
first obtaining a visa from a U.S. consulate abroad. Temporary visitors for business
or pleasure from non-VWP countries must obtain a visa from Department of State
(DOS) officers at a consular post abroad before coming to the United States. The
VWP constitutes one of a few exceptions under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA) in which foreign nationals are admitted into the United States without a valid
visa
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Immigration: Legislative Issues on Nonimmigrant Professional Specialty (H-1B) Workers
The economic prosperity of the 1990s fueled a drive to increase the levels of
employment-based immigration. The nation enjoyed its longest economic expansion,
and the unemployment rate had remained low. Both the Congress and the Federal
Reserve Board then expressed concern that a scarcity of labor could curtail the pace
of economic growth. A primary legislative response was to increase the supply of
foreign temporary professional workers through FY2003. The 108th Congress now
weighs whether to extend the increases or let the levels revert to the statutory limit
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Education and Training Funded by the H-1B Visa Fee and the Demand for Information Technology and Other Professional Specialty Workers
CRS_April_2005_Education_and_Training_Funded_by_the_H_1B.pdf: 1087 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020
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Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs
[Excerpt] At present, the United States has two main programs for temporarily importing low-skilled workers, sometimes referred to as guest workers. Agricultural guest workers enter through the H-2A visa program, and other guest workers enter through the H-2B visa program. Employers interested in importing workers under either program must first apply to the U.S. Department of Labor for a certification that U.S. workers capable of performing the work are not available and that the employment of alien workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Other requirements of the programs differ.
A variety of bills have been introduced in recent Congresses to make changes to the H-2A and H-2B programs and the “H” visa category generally, and to establish new temporary worker visas. The 109th Congress revised the H-2B program in the FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-13). Among the changes, a temporary provision was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to exempt certain returning H-2B workers from the H-2B annual numerical cap of 66,000. The FY2007 Department of Defense authorization bill (P.L. 109-364) extended this exemption through FY2007. The exemption expired on September 30, 2007. A number of bills before the 110th Congress (S. 988, S. 2839, H.R. 1843, H.R. 5233, H.R. 5495, H.R. 5849) would reenact an H-2B returning worker exemption.
Other guest worker bills introduced in the 110th Congress include proposals to reform the H-2A program (S. 237/S. 340/H.R. 371, S. 1639, H.R. 1645, H.R. 1792) and the H-2B program (S. 1639, S. 2094), and to establish new temporary worker visas (S. 330, S. 1639, H.R. 1645, H.R. 2413). Some of these bills also would establish mechanisms for certain foreign workers to become legal permanent residents (LPRs). The Senate debated, but failed to invoke cloture on, S. 1639 in June 2007.
President George W. Bush proposed a new, expanded temporary worker program in January 2004 when he announced his principles for immigration reform, and has since reiterated his support for such a program. In August 2007, following the unsuccessful cloture vote in the Senate on S. 1639, the Bush Administration announced that it would seek to streamline the existing H-2A and H-2B programs within current law. In February 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published proposed rules to significantly amend their respective H-2A regulations.
The current discussion of guest worker programs takes place against a backdrop of historically high levels of unauthorized migration to the United States, and one question that often arises about proposals for new guest worker programs is whether they would enable participants to obtain LPR status. Other issues raised in connection with guest worker proposals include how new program requirements would compare with those of the H-2A and H-2B programs and how the eligible population would be defined. This report will be updated as legislative developments occur
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A Primer on U.S. Immigration Policy
[Excerpt] This report provides a broad overview of U.S. immigration policy. The first section addresses policies governing how foreign nationals enter the United States either to reside permanently or to stay temporarily. Related topics within this section include visa issuance and security, forms of quasi-legal status, and naturalization. The second section discusses enforcement policies both for excluding foreign nationals from admission into the United States, as well as for detaining and removing those who enter the country unlawfully or who enter lawfully but subsequently commit crimes that make them deportable. The section also covers worksite enforcement and immigration fraud. The third section addresses policies for unauthorized aliens residing in the United States. While intended to be comprehensive, this primer may omit some immigration-related topics. It does not discuss policy issues or congressional concerns about specific immigration-related policies and programs
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Visa Policy: Roles of the Departments of State and Homeland Security
CRS ReportCRSVisaPolicy.pdf: 1613 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020
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U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends
[Excerpt] This report is a chart book of selected immigration trends that touch on the main elements of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Most policymakers agree that the main issues in CIR include increased border security and immigration enforcement, improved employment eligibility verification, revision of legal immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. The report offers snapshots of time series data, using the most complete and consistent time series currently available for each statistic. The key findings and elements germane to the data depicted are summarized with the figures. The summary offers the highlights of key immigration trends
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