While extensive research shows that Western publics tend to prefer high-skilled immigrants and those from White-majority nations, the relationship between skill and ethnic penalties in immigration preferences remains poorly understood. This research note seeks to clarify this relationship using a pre-registered survey experiment on a representative sample ( n = 1216) of (White) British respondents asking them to evaluate South-African visa applicants in two occupations (medical doctors and fast-food employees) whose ethnicity was randomized. Results show evidence of ethnic penalties against non-White applicants when it comes to medical doctors, but not when it comes to fast-food workers. White medical doctors (a high-status occupation) are rated more favorably than Black medical doctors, but White fast-food workers (a low-status occupation) are not rated more favorably than Black fast-food workers. This pattern is particularly pronounced among respondents who display more negative attitudes towards immigration in general. The results are consistent with a mechanism whereby ethnic bias is activated at higher skill levels.

In the 1970s, migration diplomacy became central to Taiwan's strategy of seeking international participation. The Taiwanese case is of interest because it has been understudied in the existing literature and can help expand the understanding of how migration diplomacy has been used by distinct states to achieve their foreign policy aims. For Taiwan, legitimacy and international participation were paramount and were key foreign policy goals linked to refugee resettlement. The example of Taiwan's migration diplomacy as a path to international participation on which this article focuses is Taiwan's coordination with the United States to help resettle refugees from the Vietnam War.

Temporary visa programs have become the dominant channel for labor migration to the United States today. The H-1B visa is the largest U.S. work visa program and the primary pathway for high-skilled immigrants to enter and stay in the United States. Despite growing discussions on the H-1B visa program, little is known about the characteristics of H-1B workers, as visa status is rarely captured in nationally representative datasets. Drawing on new administrative records of all individuals who were approved for an H-1B visa between 2014 and 2024 ( n = 3,396,170), this study provides one of the first population-level analyses of recent H-1B workers’ characteristics. Administrative records are combined with data from the American Community Survey ( n = 3,089,405) to compare H-1B workers with U.S.-born and foreign-born citizen workers who are similarly employed. Findings reveal three key patterns. First, H-1B workers are highly educated and concentrated in computer science and engineering, fields where U.S. citizens are underrepresented. Second, nearly half are overeducated, primarily driven by advanced degree holders employed in occupations that only require a bachelor's degree. Third, H-1B workers earn 10.1 percent less than U.S.-born citizens and 12.9 percent less than foreign-born citizens in comparable occupations. The finding that H-1B workers are more likely than comparable U.S. citizens to be both overeducated and underpaid remains consistent across a range of demographic subgroups and is especially pronounced among Asian migrants. This study points to temporary visa status as a potential axis of labor market stratification in the high-skilled workforce.

Bureaucratic processes and administrative procedures play a central role in producing differentiated statuses of legality and regularity. Over the past decade, Mexico has experienced a notable increase in the number of arrivals from a diverse range of countries of origin, with varied motivations and intentions to stay, transit, or seek asylum. As a result of this changing migration scenario, some foreign-born individuals lack valid migration documents, have expired residence permits, or have not obtained temporary or permanent residence authorization. In this research note, we use administrative data from the Mexican National Migration Institute, accessed through a request for information, to calculate the foreign-born population living in an irregular situation in Mexico and provide an overview of their main sociodemographic characteristics and countries of origin compared to those under temporary and permanent resident statuses. With this lower-bound calculation of irregularity, we aim to inform how legal pathways and socio-demographic characteristics have changed over time. Findings show age- and gender-based patterns and differences by country of birth, as well as an increase in irregularity over time, including a broad range of reasons for aiming at regularization. We hope this calculation and characterization of irregular migration—conceived not solely in terms of irregular entry—opens new avenues for research into how this phenomenon affects broader integration processes and how the Mexican case may be situated in a comparative regional perspective.

Why do some people want to migrate while others do not, and why are only some willing to do so irregularly? Existing explanations emphasise socio-demographic characteristics, political and economic contexts, and access to migrant networks. This article tests socio-psychological factors as predictors of variation in migration aspirations, plans, preparations, and irregularity willingness. Using original, nationally representative survey data from Montenegro, it tests the effects of personal values, risk aversion, self-efficacy, interpersonal trust, behavioural inhibition, and personality traits. In particular, individuals who value openness-to-change and self-enhancement and are less risk-averse are significantly more likely to express a desire to migrate, even when controlling for conventional predictors. Psychological factors play a more limited role in explaining the more behavioural plans and preparations, where structural and enabling factors dominate, consistent with the aspirations–capabilities framework, though perhaps reflecting statistical power. Willingness to migrate irregularly displays a largely distinct pattern of associations, particularly higher interpersonal trust and lower conscientiousness. Overall, the results suggest that psychology is particularly well suited to explaining why people want to migrate and how they would be willing to do so, while migration behaviour depends more heavily on capabilities.

In this Method Note, we present our reciprocal method of research and support — the focus-group workshop (FGW). Our framework was developed during research conducted in 2022 with individuals assisting Ukrainian war refugees in Poland and was applied in five FGWs attended by 36 participants. The originality of the FGW lies in linking the ideas of an ad-hoc support group, an educational workshop and a focus group interview. We argue that this is a much needed development in migration studies, which can help to attract participation and facilitate the involvement of interviewees, increase the richness and depth of research data and satisfy ethical requirements for benefiting participants and generating social good. In this Note, after presenting the context of our research, we explain the specificity of our research, focusing on the needs and constraints of volunteers. We then discuss the role of reciprocity in social research. Next, we present our framework and toolkit and explain in detail how we implemented them and the challenges we experienced. In conclusion, we argue that our FGW method can bring a novel approach to migration studies as it allows for immediate reciprocity in the form of competencies sharing with workshop participants as well as networking and support. It also allows us to address the power hierarchies, particularly present in research with vulnerable groups. Last but not least, FGW can be used by researchers who are also activists, as it allows for the study of specific social issues and simultaneously supports researched communities.