Elizabeth Jacobs

Jacobs will examine skilled migration as a central and growing hallmark of U.S. migration policy. Using LinkedIn employment histories in tandem with longitudinal in-depth interviews, she will analyze how migration policy shapes the spatial and occupational mobility of skilled migrants moving between the United States and India. The project situates student and work visas within the complex maze of the U.S. migration system and articulates an institutional framework for understanding how state and corporate actors regulate and constrain opportunities for migrants and institutions alike.