Citizenship Acquisition in the United States of America

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Citizenship Acquisition in the United States of
America

• Ather H. Akbari
• (Saint Marys University Atlantic Metropolis
  Centre)

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Objectives of the study

• To investigate
• The effect of some socio-economic factors on the
  likelihood of naturalization in the United
  States.
• The impact of naturalization on the economic
  performance of an individual.

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Some stylized facts

• The United States has been a popular immigrant
  destination for a long time.
• According to the United Nations estimates,
  around 140 million people, or 2 percent of the
  worlds population, now reside in a country where
  they were not born.
• Two-third of these people live in Australia,
  Canada, and most live in the United States.
• Over the period 1990-2005, the percentage of
  foreign-born in the countrys total population
  rose from 7.9 percent to 12.1 percent.
• The large immigration program, and the increasing
  number of its foreign-born population are
  indications that the United States also
  appreciates the contribution immigrants make to
  its economic and social fabric.

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Some stylized facts (contd.)

• The citizenship requirements are clear indication
  that the allegiance of a foreign-born to the host
  country is viewed separate from his / her
  contribution to economic and social fabric.
• These requirements include, residency and
  physical presence, good moral character,
  attachment to the constitution, language, good
  knowledge of the United States government and
  history and oath of allegiance.

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Some stylized facts (Contd.)

• U.S. citizenship also provides certain
  privileges
• A citizen can vote, can get elected to the
  public office, can serve in a popular jury, can
  enjoy government protection while traveling
  abroad, can bring family members to the U.S.,
  obtain certain government benefits that are not
  available to non-citizens and can also meet tax
  requirements that are different from
  non-citizens.

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Methodology and data used

• Estimate a logistic regression to assess the
  impact of various demographic and economic
  characteristics on the probability of citizenship
  acquisition.
• Estimate a human capital earnings function for
  naturalized citizens and noncitizens.
• Data from the 2000 U.S. census are used.
• Separate analyses for developed and developing
  country immigrants.

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Sample characteristics

• Compared to a non-citizen, an average naturalized
  citizen in either group is
• 4 years older
• More likely to be married
• Has fewer children (aged 15 and younger)

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Sample characteristics (contd.)

• Compared to a developed country immigrant, a
  developing country immigrant
• Acquires citizenship sooner
• Is more likely to work in professional and
  managerial occupations
• Is more likely to have a university degree
• Works more weeks
• Earns 50 percent more
• Is more likely to own a house
• Occupational status, educational attainment and
  earnings do not vary by citizenship status for
  developed country immigrants while home ownership
  does.

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Some factors determining the likelihood of
naturalization of an individual

• Age, years since migration, gender, marital
  status, presence of children under 15, university
  degree, professional occupation, home ownership,
  log earnings, ratio of source country GDP per
  capita to that in the U.S.

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Results Probability of naturalization

• All included variables do a good job of
  predicting the likelihood naturalization.
• Similar odds for individuals with identical
  post-schooling experience.
• No effect of income on either group.
• All others have greater impacts on odds for
  developing country immigrants, the largest effect
  being that of homeownership.

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Results Earnings model

• Citizenship acquisition does not have a
  statistically significant effect on the log of
  annual wages of developed country immigrants.
• Larger and statistically significant effect of
  citizenship acquisition on the log of annual
  wages is found in case of immigrants arriving
  from developing countries.
• In both samples, the results do not vary by
  gender.

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Results (Contd.)

• While professional immigrants from developing
  countries enjoy greater returns to their
  occupations, those who acquire citizenship enjoy
  lower returns.
• The above could reflect the issue of foreign
  credential recognition since most have spent
  lesser time in the country.
• Finally, citizenship acquisition benefits
  developing country immigrants more by raising the
  market rewards for their human capital
  investment.