Positioned at Extremes: Future Job Placements of Immigrant Students at U.S. Colleges
January 2026
Working Paper Number:
CES-26-08
Abstract
Immigrant students who attend U.S. colleges are disproportionately employed in either large firms'especially multinationals'or small firms and self-employment. Using linked Census and longitudinal employment data, we trace the jobs taken by college students in 2000 during the 2001-20 period and evaluate four mechanisms shaping sector and firm size placement: geographic clustering, degree specialization, firm capabilities/visas, and ethnic self-employment specialization. Degree fields predict large firm and MNE placement, while ethnic specialization explains small firm sorting. Immigrant students who remain in the U.S. earn more than their native peers, suggesting the segmentation reflects productive sorting rather than blocked opportunity.
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:
employ,
employed,
entrepreneurship,
regional,
specialization,
immigrant,
multinational,
hiring,
discrimination,
workforce,
immigrant entrepreneurs,
college,
immigration,
migrant,
assimilation,
career
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Decennial Census,
New York University,
American Community Survey,
Alfred P Sloan Foundation,
Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics,
Special Sworn Status,
Core Based Statistical Area,
Census Bureau Disclosure Review Board,
Integrated Longitudinal Business Database,
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series,
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation,
Federal Statistical Research Data Center
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