Reforming the H-4 Program

by Sherwin Lee Posted on May 9, 2013

A couple of days ago, the Seattle Times put out a pretty convincing story for the need to reform our astonishingly bureaucratic immigration system.  The story covered in-depth the many challenges facing H-4 visa holders, as spouses and family members of other H visa holders (most typically, the infamous H-1B).  Under the current system, H-4 holders aren’t eligible to get a Social Security Number (SSN) or legal work authorization, but can get a driver’s license and ironically, an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN).  That’s right, they can pay payroll and income taxes for those jobs they aren’t legally allowed to have.

As the Times story details, the H-4 restrictions put a mighty big pinch on visa holders, who might be just as skilled as H-1B workers but aren’t able to compete in the local labor pool.  Switching to an H-1B is no picnic, either.  Employer sponsorships are often costly*, and even more so for non-STEM employers who don’t have the deep pockets, but still need just as much crack at skilled labor as their STEM counterparts.

This is, simply put, an atrocious waste of talent and skill and a direct impedance on economic growth.  I haven’t done too much looking, but I suspect that there’s probably research out there that’s quantified the lost opportunity cost for every qualified foreign worker who is denied legal work authorization in the United States.  Given the massive number of H-1B applications yearly, it probably adds up to a significant share of the GDP.

Speculation and faux napkin-analysis aside, there are some pretty big sub-regional implications in all of this (which I’ll detail more in the second post on The H-1B Debate).  If denied a work visa, H-4 and other non-work visa holders must wait until they’re granted permanent residency.  Yes, that’s right, they or their working spouse must have a green card in hand prior to being given work authorization.  For some prospective immigrants, that’s a process that can take decades.

On the whole, it’s a big enough deterrent to force entire families to return to their native countries, leave behind their networks and connections here in America, and be just another transient piece rotating in and out of local communities.  And that’s never a good thing for the community, the city, the state, the country– or the people that live in them.

*The H-1B fees include those for I-129 petition filing, ACWIA training, Fraud Prevention & Detection (seriously), which can all add up well beyond $2000, depending on the size and industry of the employer.  Luckily, the ACWIA fee can be waived for employers in education, which lightens the load quite a bit.  

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Reforming the F-1 Program

by Sherwin Lee Posted on March 13, 2013

FIUTS CulturalFest at University of Washington, photo courtesy UW Student Life

While we’re on the subject of non-immigrant visas, it’s important to look at another key demographic of migrant foreigners– students.  Currently, international students make up 12% of the student body at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus.  The vast majority of these students are on F-1 student visas, the State Department’s primary visa for full-time foreign students.

While many F-1 holders end up returning to their home countries after graduation, a few will stay on under a different non-immigrant visa or perhaps even in-process to permanent residency.  However, these numbers aren’t hugely significant, largely because there’s so much red tape not only to permanent residency and citizenship, but also to employment while on the F-1 visa.

Continue reading →

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The Distribution of Asians in King County

by Sherwin Lee Posted on February 24, 2013

Where do Asians live in King County? (click to enlarge)

A while back, when Eric Fischer released his race and ethnicity dot maps fresh with 2010 Census data, the first question in my mind was: how do we take this further?  As a cultural diversity and API (Asian-Pacific Islander) advocate, I was naturally interested in seeing the spatial distribution of ethnic Asian communities broken down even more, so what better place to start than in King County?

A quick and important note about methodology.  Unlike Fischer’s maps which visualize redistricting PL 94-171 data at the block level, my King County map is enumerated to the census tract, the finest geography at which specific Asian ethnicity data is aggregated (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.).  Therein lies the big drawback– census tracts are too massive to be appropriate for any kind of micro-spatial analysis, so what seem like sudden arbitrary boundaries at the edge of some ethnic communities are actually census tract delineations.  For the purposes of this post, however, they’ll have to do.

Other brief methodology notes: each dot color represents a specific Asian ethnicity (Chinese = blue, Asian Indian = red, Korean = orange, Japanese = dark gold, Vietnamese = bright green, Filipino = magenta, Other = grey) and one dot represents 50 persons.

A quick scan of the map output (click on the image to see the full-size map) reveals a few observations:

  • The Chinese (blue) continue to be the predominant Asian ethnicity in Seattle, and are relatively clustered, as evident by the large clump in Chinatown-ID, Beacon Hill, and the Rainier Valley.  There’s also a very dense (and slightly more diverse) concentration in the University District.  It doesn’t take a genius to tell that these are students.
  • Vietnamese (light green) communities largely co-exist with the Chinese in Southeast Seattle.  If you take a closer look, you’ll see that there’s a rather dense concentration intermixed with the Chinese clump on South Beacon Hill– that’s New Holly/Othello, where a large Vietnamese enclave is situated.  One thing I did not notice before now is a predominantly Vietnamese community in the vicinity of White Center and Burien, which also has a large Hispanic presence.
  • The most diverse “clustering” of Asians is in the Kent Valley, which is, nonetheless, still relatively dispersed.  There’s a large Indian (red) and Filipino (magenta) community there, much of which is blue-collar folks working in industrial/manufacturing occupations.
  • Turning to the Eastside, the standout finding is very clearly a large dense concentration of ethnic Indians in the Crossroads and Overlake areas at the border between Bellevue and Redmond.  I’ve already done quite a bit of academic research on this enclave, which you can take a look at here.  The Chinese, on the other hand, are far more dispersed and tend to be more settled in south Bellevue, namely Somerset.  What would be interesting is a socio-economic analysis of these spatial patterns, but that’s out of the scope of this analysis.
  • At the bottom left of the map, close to the King-Pierce border, is a faint but defined grouping of orange dots, i.e., Koreans.  While not home to a large Asian population, Federal Way is known for its sizable Korean presence and informally referred as “K-Town” by some locals.  It would be interesting to replicate the analysis for Snohomish County, where “sister” Korean communities reside along Highway 99 in Shoreline, Edmonds, and Lynnwood.
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The H-1B debate: immigration and economy (I)

by Sherwin Lee Posted on February 4, 2013

This is the first part of a two-part series on the ongoing immigration reform debate.  Part 1 will focus on H-1B’s economic implications on a national scale, while Part 2 will localize these implications and focus on our communities at a micro level.

After a U.S. Senate coalition released its immigration reform proposal earlier last week, there was a tantalizing reminder of the earlier rounds of debate surrounding the supposed STEM (science; technology; engineering; math) labor shortage and its relation to the H-1B program.  In short, Microsoft had argued that the highly-skilled STEM labor pool would be unable to meet demand in the near to long-term, an issue, they said, that could be resolved by loosening restrictions on the H-1B program and upping the annual quota on approved visas.

H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to come to the United States for specialized labor, are largely responsible for recent large influxes of “immigrants” in hi-tech metropolitan hubs, like the Bay Area and the Greater Eastside.  The program itself, however, has come under scrutiny as a tool for circumventing easy access to jobs for Americans, an argument that was hinted at in rounds of critique against the Microsoft report, the most cogent response coming from the Economic Policy Institute, which ultimately argued against any sort of expansion or reform of H-1B.

Fast forwarding back to the present, the Senate bill, which has been lauded as decidedly bipartisan, actually goes above and beyond Microsoft’s original proposal and would greatly increase the number of incoming foreign workers on an annual basis.  Countering the bill is largely philosophical opposition against the idea of improving access to American jobs for non-American workers, particularly when unemployment figures have persistently lagged behind other improving economic indicators.

H-1B, however, has had very little to do with the nationwide employment picture– STEM workers continue to show the lowest levels of unemployment, and despite predictions against a STEM labor shortage, anecdotal evidence from just looking at the job opportunity databases of various tech companies shows that the demand for such jobs to be problematically healthy.

Nonetheless, arguments against immigration reform have been quick to scapegoat H-1B in analyzing the supply-demand balance of STEM labor.  That debate, in turn, has blossomed into even greater realms of irrelevancy– the merits of foreign workers, immigrant-induced crime, easing the pathway the citizenship, and so on.  However, the underlying truth behind H-1B remains seldom discussed, that it is one of America’s most successful outlets for economic growth and investment in human capital, which has been more or less hampered by artificial quotas and restrictions.

As many other developed nations around the world face economic stagnation thanks to low birth rates, low death rates, and limited immigration (i.e., the much theorized Stage 5 of demographic transition), the United States is still at a rather crucial juncture in which it can choose how policy shapes the demographic outlook.  To maintain and foster economic growth through continued industrialization and technologization, reforming and expanding H-1B and like programs must be the deciding actions at the helm, not limiting them and crying false foul.  As we’ve already seen in many of our hi-tech metropolitan areas, welcoming highly-skilled labor, foreign or otherwise, has already paid dividends.  Standardizing and fostering that success on the national level would be the next logical step.

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The Immigrant Privatization Complex

by Sherwin Lee Posted on January 21, 2013

Raohe Street Night Market, Taipei

For the past three weeks, I’ve been venturing through the metropolitan landscape of Taipei and Seoul, discovering how urbanization has provided a wealth of densely concentrated amenities and services at the disposable of the local denizens.  These are the stomping grounds of many immigrants who now call North America home– expatriates, who for various socio-economic reasons, have come to assimilate into a very different landscape far away from home.

Millions of ethnic East Asians currently reside in the United States and Canada, many of whom emigrated in the past two decades alone.  Socially, economically, and culturally, these immigrants lead very different lives than the ones they held back in their home countries.  A prevailing question that I have contemplated repeatedly during this trip asks how Asian immigrants manage to resist succumbing to boredom when migrating to North America, given the disparity in public amenities and access to them.

In many large East Asian metropolises, amenities and services are commonplace and densely concentrated– public markets, for example, tend to be far more diverse and vibrant than their North American counterparts.  Small dish eateries, similarly, offer cheaper and more varied fare.  Going out, whether for entertainment, shopping, or dining, is easier to do in Asia and requires less purchasing power than would be required in a North American city.

Those who have immigrated, however, give up these luxuries in exchange for a more privatized realm of living.  Dining, for many Asian immigrants, is largely a home-centered activity with a diminished emphasis on eating out (which is almost stigmatized by some); in-home entertainment systems have replaced visits to the theater; online shopping provides access to all tradeable goods without the need to shop at retailers in person.

This privatization complex can be generically characterized by the culture of independence that is pervasive, particularly in the United States.  The implications are vast, as they are inextricably tied with many other related public policies, like housing, land use, transportation, social services, education, etc.  However, one thing is clear– there is still a prevailing notion of privatization embedded within the principles of opportunity, the bedrock of what we call the American Dream.  Amenities, services, goods, etc. that are no longer available to an immigrant are to be made up for in the private realm.

The pursuit for privatization makes for an interesting study, the concept of which is a broader reflection on immigrant assimilation, which I’ve partially rejected.  Yet there is much more to learn about why immigrants make the choices they do, especially as migration patterns have changed and continue to change, now and in the future.

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A Culture of Music Education

by Sherwin Lee Posted on December 7, 2012

Photo by KPLU Radio

I don’t get much chance to blog about music education, a topic I’m very fond of and something I strongly advocate for in our public schools system.  It’s something that is extraordinarily rich in our region– in addition to musical groups within our public schools, there are also various opportunities for our younger generations to exercise their musical talent, from festivals and competitions, to various outside music programs.

As a product of music ed, I’m a firm believer that support for music and arts programs in or schools should increase as we scale down, from national to state, regional to local levels.  Ever since the demise of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) in 2008, there’s been a lingering question among jazz educators across the world as to how we can effectively bolster a unified support system for jazz ed, even without a “governing” support body like IAJE.

The question is a local one.  In the Seattle area, where there is a strong tradition of talent-rich jazz programs, the answer lies in the support network that branches out from each program.  Parents, boosters, fundraisers, etc. are indeed part of the equation and can fill the void that the public system leaves when schools are hit with financial woes.  Fundamentally, though, music education is about playing music, and the core of solution lies in giving music students the opportunity to play– not just in the school auditorium or band hall, but out in the real world where people can listen to and enjoy them.

A few of the area’s strongest jazz programs are setting the example– many students at Roosevelt and Garfield form their own mini groups, called jazz “combos,” which perform at a variety of venues, like clubs, restaurants, public places, and even private homes.  The opportunity provides exposure, exposure recognition, recognition support.  I’ve heard many a parent express pleasant surprise upon hearing the extraordinary talent that our music students have, which only compels them to come back for more while giving their support to make sure they can do so.

With mainstream music and entertainment rife with vulgarities and devoid of talent nowadays, the foundation of music education is more important than ever.  By fostering more talented young musicians  in our schools, our culture will become richer and our communities stronger.

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The Fabric of Cultural Diversity in Bellevue

by Sherwin Lee Posted on November 17, 2012

If it’s not already evident from this blog’s content, I spend a great deal of time thinking about demography and place– why people live where they do, and what about ethnicity, culture, race, etc., play a role in these processes.  There’s been a lot of talk in the media recently about the population boom of Asian Americans, and how it’s even outpaced the growth of the Hispanic population.  I’m ultimately disinterested in this phenomenon as a whole, especially since it’s a lot of generalizing and number-crunching, when the real discussion should be about the community-level changes we see in our localized fabric of cultural diversity.

I testified to the Bellevue city council in September and the Parks & Community Services Board in October regarding my opinions about the matter of cultural diversity in Bellevue and the role that the City might have in taking a more targeted focus towards the matter.  My testimony is ultimately immersed in a lot of “policy-talk” in an attempt to gauge how raw attitudes are about Bellevue’s demographic changes, particularly among the Indian and Chinese-American populations.

I’ve included a summation of my comments to the two bodies below the jump, and I’ll let them speak for themselves.

Continue reading →

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Paint and Social Conflict

by Sherwin Lee Posted on October 13, 2012

Seattle’s International District has been enriched by overlapping layers of fabric, part of which is longstanding ethnic tradition transmitted through migrants, and part of which is the intersection of localized class and social conflict between various strata and factions.  Many examples are prominent throughout the neighborhood, which serve to juxtapose how both lines of racial and class divisions cross.  Its identity as a whole can be perceived differently, depending on who you talk to– for some, the neighborhood is a microcosm of pan-Asian immigrant heritage, and for others, it is marred by a reputation of high crime, homelessness, and drug deals.

The picture above gives some insight into this phenomenon.  I had the opportunity to capture it when out volunteering for a graffiti paint-out event hosted by the Business Improvement Area.  We were tasked with painting over recent tags– this one, in particular, was on the lower half of a wall in Little Saigon.  What was particular about this wall face was the fact that it once boasted a large Chinese mural, the top half of which is still visible.  Vandalism, however, is constantly wielded to deface the wall’s lower half, now obscured by layers of graffiti and paint.

The real tragedy isn’t just the defacement of the mural, but what is clearly a conflict between social rebellion and community heritage.  Neither of the two are mutually exclusive, so when both come into conflict, it enforces systems of prejudice and divisiveness.  To a degree, the picture is a symbol of that– our paint aiming to combat the vandalism by further veiling a mural embodying the neighborhood’s roots.  It’s a paradox difficult to solve, and one embroiled in generations of social struggle.

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Typologies of Ethnic Enclaves

by Sherwin Lee Posted on August 21, 2012

Auto-oriented suburban street in CA's San Gabriel Valley

Results from the 2010 Census leave little doubt that immigrant groups are indeed “suburbanizing” or at least making an increasing presence in low-density second-ring suburbs.  As I’ve already covered in the past, suburban ethnic enclaves, particularly those that have formed from an influx of Asian immigrants, have adhered to this kind of form.  While the demographic characteristics of these enclaves do reveal a different socio-economic pattern compared to their inner-city counterparts, many of the needs, especially cultural and social, remain the same.

Yet as we apply ethnic geography over space and across varying urban forms, there are drastic implications, particularly when it comes to mobility.  The reason why I struck down spatial assimilation is because it implies a trend of upward socioeconomic mobility over time for immigrant groups, perhaps intergenerationally, as they populate the suburbs.  As we’ve seen, that’s not the case– there is a tremendous ethnic socio-economic diversity in the suburbs with both dependence and reliance on non-automobile forms of transportation, like transit and walking.  Of course, the challenge remains stiffly rooted in the fact that these are two transport modes that have received little investment in the suburbs.

Looking at the various stages of ethnic enclave development, I can do a broad-brush classification of three different typologies, but heaven knows reality is far more complex.  But for the purpose of this discussion, this will be sufficient:

  • Undeveloped, informal enclaves describe those where formal networks are not yet established.  Formal networks include social services, community groups, business associations, religious organizations, etc. that all cater specifically to the dominant ethnicity.  While informal networks might exist, these are largely social in nature and may be exclusive and/or difficult to connect with.  These enclaves tend to be located in areas of higher socio-economic standing, and in low-density single-family neighborhoods.  For transit-dependent immigrants, challenges include limited mobility and subsequently longer travel times, which may result in secondary effects, like lack of community and mental health problems.  An example includes the Somerset/Amherst neighborhoods of South Bellevue, where many elderly Chinese immigrants are confined to their residences.
  • Developed, formal enclaves are typically comprised of both formal and informal networks that cater to an ethnic populace.  Barriers to establishment for new immigrants are not particularly large as these networks are easy to connect to.  However, land use and urban form remain detriments as these enclaves may be located in low-density suburban areas with few mobility options.  While there may be community spaces and destinations for immigrants to go to, limited accessibility can act as a significant barrier.  Similarly, low-density land use patterns also increase travel times and stifle density-induced community.  An example includes cities in California’s San Gabriel Valley (i.e., Monterey Park, Alhambra, etc.).
  • Developed, mobility-rich enclaves are formal ethnic enclaves that contain all the social, cultural, and economic networks that cater to ethnic groups but also are planned in a manner as to optimize mobility and transportation options, particularly public transit, bicycling, and walking.  While accessibility is not a significant barrier to establishment, lower-density land use patterns may restrict residential densities that encourage forms of community vibrancy.  An example includes the suburbs of Richmond and Burnaby in Metro Vancouver, which have established Chinese enclaves, as well as infrastructure for transit, walking, and bicycling.

My “back-of-the-napkin” analysis orders the typologies based on my conception of importance, from worst to best, in terms of the enclaves that I believe are best suited to accommodating new immigrants while still fostering respective ethnic culture.  Nonetheless, challenges persist in all three, largely attributable to poor land use and transportation planning.

All in all, historic inner-city enclaves still remain the most optimal microcosms of ethnic community, largely due to historic identity, existing preservation efforts, land use patterns, and mobility options.  Preservation efforts, in particular, remain uniquely important to fostering these types of enclave communities, through emphasizing the cultural value of historic properties, like family associations, murals, design elements, etc.

The most foreboding challenge that faces these types of urban enclaves is the risk of gentrifying processes in the near future, largely thanks to disinvestment and municipal negligence over the years, which has produced a lopsided socio-economic playing field with the suburban counterparts.  Whatever battles may rage on about density and gentrification, however, it’s crucial to understand that the most important strategy in planning for equitable ethnic communities is the need to not only avoid negligence towards our historic enclaves, but also concentrate social/cultural value and economic investment in these neighborhoods as well.

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Social Equity and the Third Place

by Sherwin Lee Posted on May 14, 2012

The "third place" in Crossroads - giant chessboard

I’m not one who often thinks about social justice issues, but do acknowledge that it’s a real and persistent issue for planners.  The other day, however, I was thinking of a number of entertainment venues I could take my girlfriend out to, and slowly realized through a rambling train of thoughts, that entertainment in our society is heavily class-based and stratified between those who can afford certain outlets and those who can’t.

Being more of a high-society person myself, it didn’t take long for me to realize that some of my favorite types of entertainment– symphony concerts, broadway shows, that sort of thing– are all off-limits for folks with fewer means.  You need a little more than pocket change to be able afford that kind of a night out and even among the well-to-do, it’s not something you can do every day.

I supposed I could ask: “what do poor people do for fun?” but that almost sounds abashedly facetious, as if the poor lead some secret lifestyle in disdain for the wealthy (think Jack sneaking Rose off to the third-class party on the lower decks).  A better way of thinking about it is looking at how entertainment, through our urban spaces of course, can be equitable and not divided along class lines.  This is where planners come in.  We love mixing uses and incomes when it comes to housing– why not do the same for communal venues and spaces?

Instead of arguing that the solution to this is for sports venues and theaters to lower their prices, I think community building can play a big role in blurring the lines among economic classes.  Take the example of the third place, with the first and second “places” being one’s home and place of work, respectively, and the third being a space where community members go to just hang out.  This could be anything– a park, a mall, even some chairs outside a storefront can serve as a third place (ask anyone who hails from an Asian country and they’ll attest to this).

The key point about third places is that 1) all members of the community are welcome, and 2) there is no restriction for entry and use, whether that’s some kind of 21-and-over age limit, or a fee/cover (unless of course, you start doing illegal things), and 3) the space can be used regularly and frequently.  Ideally then, people of all ages, races, incomes, etc. can use the space to establish bonds and enjoy each other’s company.  Crossroads Mall, for example, often acts as a third place, particularly in its food court/gaming area, where people come out to listen to music, eat food, play table games with one another, and enjoy the giant chess match outside QFC.

Community ranks among one of the most important aspects of built environments and there is now research that shows its link to our health and well-being.  Time and time again, we’ve seen that the best types of communities have formed regardless of income, race, or any other kind of social stratum.  Ensuring that our cities have entertainment outlets that are based in our communal venues and open to all can foster places vital to the health of our communities, and also to the equity of society.

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