Immigration issues for foreign nationals with degrees

Among the things foreign nationals desiring to come to the U.S. vary in is their education level. Some have college degrees or higher degrees. What degrees a person from another country has can have implications for them when it comes to U.S. immigration matters.

For one, it could influence what sorts of immigration goals such a person has. Also, it could have impacts on their immigration options. Some work visa programs and green card programs here in the U.S. are aimed at immigrants with higher levels of education. What degrees an individual has and what documentation they are able to present regarding their education level could affect their ability to meet the eligibility requirements for such programs.

Immigration lawyers can assist foreign nationals with college degrees or more advanced degrees with the special matters and issues that can arise in connection to pursing the immigration goals they have for themselves and their family members.

A recent study suggests it is becoming increasingly common for individuals coming to the U.S. to have a college education or higher. The study was by the Migration Policy Institute. It looked at education levels among immigrants to the United States. For the sake of this study, immigrants include: green card holders, nonimmigrant visa holders, foreign-born individuals who became naturalized U.S. citizens, asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants.

According to the study, of the immigrant arrivals to the U.S. between 2011 and 2015, 48 percent had a college degree. It also found that, in 2015, 30 percent of all immigrant adults in the U.S. had such a degree.

This is up significantly from where these numbers were just two and a half decades previous. Reportedly, in 1990, 20 percent of immigrant adults in the U.S. held college degrees. And, in the five-year period finishing in 1990, only around 27 of immigrant arrivals to America held such degrees.

The study and the institute have pointed to their being numerous factors behind this increase, including:

  • Global social trends.
  • Global economic trends.
  • Global education trends.
  • Trends regarding what regions immigrants to the U.S. are coming from.

One wonders what the next 25 years will see related to the education levels of immigrants to the United States.