What You Need to Know About How Gender Bias Affects Immigration in the US
Women and men have very different experiences when going through the immigration process. While immigration law is gender-neutral at the surface level, immigration in the United States actually contains many barriers for women striving to obtain legal status. However, of those parents who immigrate to the United States through the family-based immigration system, more women than men are able to come to the United States. Here is what you need to know about how gender bias affects immigration in the U.S.
Immigrant women moving to the United States through family-based or employment-based programs are at a disadvantage when compared to immigrant men. These women must wait years to obtain permission to work or to obtain permanent status apart from their husbands. In addition, due to systemic barriers that women face over men, such as lack of education or skills from their country of origin, immigrant women have fewer opportunities to apply to be principal visa holders. Since principal visa holders are often those who help immigrants towards legalization, many women may feel like they have no choice but to rely on other individuals (such as their spouse or another family member) to petition for their legal status in the United States.
Related: Immigration for Women to the United States
How Gender Bias Contributes to Disadvantages for Immigrant Women in the U.S.
While not all women are dependent on men to achieve legal status, gender roles and expectations play a key role in the employment-based legalization process. Employment-based legalization is only allowed for “high-demand” jobs, a requirement for an employment-based visa. High-demand jobs could include professors, researchers, or positions that require master’s degrees or higher education.
Thus, many jobs will not offer women legalization through employment if jobs are seen as extensions of domestic work, such as cleaning or cooking. Even when immigrant women support their families by working full time, sometimes even more than one job, an employment-based visa is extremely difficult to obtain. Since many more men than women are likely to have education or skills in places such as Central America and Mexico, and are more likely to seek employment that is categorized as a “high-demand” job, men continue to dominate over women when it comes to applying and obtaining employment-based legal status.
Once a woman enters the legalization process, it is often difficult to obtain employment as work permits often take a long time to process and arrive. Many families in the United States require at least two sources of income to sustain themselves. Women who eventually receive their work permit may still struggle financially due to the fact that they only have one source of income – themselves.
Immigrants, especially immigrant women, struggle to obtain work in a system that precludes their employment. This usually results in immigrants working for the underground economy without legal authorization, increasing their susceptibility for exploitation from their employers. Employers are aware of the fact that immigrants will probably not report crimes, due to fear of retaliation. This results in many workplace cruelties against immigrants. Immigrant women are more susceptible to unsafe conditions, such as sexual assault. This is especially true for women who immigrate to the United States without documentation.
Related: Women of Color and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
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