Migration research

I'm a PhD Candidate in Sociology specializing in migration, race, and social inequality.
I've presented my research on Asian migration to demography and social science conferences, in addition to academic coursework on international & human rights law, migration, and refugee studies. I'm also Principal Investigator of a third grant-augmented study on Asian-origin labor migrants.

Interested in participating in the work visa study? You are eligible if you are...

1. An immigration lawyer with significant experience in cases of Asian-origin temporary (nonimmigrant) work visa petitions within the past 5 years

2. A nonimmigrant/migrant that:
- Identify as from an Asian country (like South Asia, Southeast Asia, or East Asia)
- Currently or formerly held a work visa (H-1B, J-1, O-1, etc)
- Are 18 years of age or older
- Currently or formerly lived in the U.S. for at least one year

Study Context

I seek to understand how Asian-origin migrants on temporary work visas in a "skill" lens:

1) experience intertwined workplace and institutional visa processes that produce legal precarity through temporariness, and

2) their use of social & cultural capital, including family and peer networks, credentials, and "skills" to navigate these processes.

Thus, my interdisciplinary research at the intersection of immigration status, race/ethnicity, class, and labor will shed light on how this understudied legal status structures the lives and outcomes of "nonimmigrant" immigrants.

My research asks: How does the mismatch between short-term legal status and long-term residence structure Asian migrant lives? How do Asian temporary visa holders navigate "skill" and social capital to change their settlement trajectories despite government barriers to citizenship?

As we enter a new era of the evolving anti-immigration policy climate globally, these findings can capture the impact of current policy, as well as inform future policy and program initiatives.