Immigrant Satisfaction

By Steven, Theo and Nico

Important definition: (theo)

The American Dream- the ideal that every US

citizen should have an equal opportunity to
achieve success and prosperity through hard
work, determination, and initiative.
Claim

People immigrate to America for multitudes of

reasons. These reasons can drastically affect the
positivity of their first impression of the country.
Generally, the more opportunistic the immigrant,
the more satisfied they are with the move.
But what does it MEAN??

The more opportunistic the immigrant,

the more satisfied they are with the
move.
Opportunistic - “exploiting chances offered by immediate
circumstances without reference to a general plan or moral
principle.” (a.k.a. coming with no plan and using circumstances
to make a life)
But what does it MEAN?? Pt. 2

The more opportunistic the immigrant, the

more satisfied they are with the move.
Satisfied - to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs, or
demands of a person (People attaining the life they want
in America)
3 categories of immigrants (nico)

- “American Dream” immigrants: the most diverse group, defined as coming with very little except for
hope and tales of the possibilities only available in the U.S.
“There was also a “new world concept” from my father and mother [...] There were also
rumors of American opportunity, or the American Dream that are available for anyone
who tries” from Heeman Lee
- Education immigrants: come to America for the various schools of higher education and the
unchallenged quality of these schools. Do not have life after college planned yet.
“I came to the US to study in the graduate school of Iowa State University, because the
United States has been really advanced in engineering and science, and they are
welcoming foreign students at that time” from Renny Li
- Job immigrants: come to America for or with a job opportunity. Sometimes the immigration is an
involuntary move from the company.
"Mostly economic, and the job gave him the opportunity... There was a push on
attracting professionals in the computer industry. It was a perfect storm for me to be
here" from Marco Peña
Extending the claim to the categories:

Immigrant type A.D Education Jobs

Opportunity Most opportunistic Somewhat Least opportunistic

opportunistic

Satisfaction Most satisfied Somewhat satisfied Least satisfied

(according to our
claim)
The numbers: (steven)

Class Immigrants Global Immigrants

www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states.
Pull Factor: American Dream
17/40 of the interviewees came
immigrated in the pursuit of a better
life because of the opportunistic
characteristics of American society
[did you surround yourself with other people from similar cultures or fully
immerse yourself with American culture?]
I didn’t come to New York to be with my own kind. I thought that was a
really stupid, narrowminded, mind-frame. I wanted to meet people from
other places, even americans. Other people with other lines of thoughts.
Other concepts other religions. I didn’t feel… what was the question?
[question is repeated] Oh yeah I didn’t feel any pressure of assimilating. In
New York, you can’t feel that! You can do anything! If you want to eat
Chinese [food] all day long, you can do that. Uruguayan food, you can do
that all day long. Nobody pressures you! I think you would have more
pressure moving to uruguay than to here or in New York. The people would
pressure you to be like them.
- Luis “Cuco” Daglio
Pull Factor: Education
13/40 of the interviewees immigrated in the
pursuit of a higher education
“I was coming here to study, and specifically boston
has a huge immigrant and international population
just because of the insane amount of schools that
are here. Not only music schools but like MIT, BU,
Northeastern. Like half of Boston is not from here”
-Caio Afiune
Student Satisfaction Today (Inside Higher Ed)
(5=Actively Recommend, (4=Very Satisfied,
1=Actively Discourage) 1=Very Dissatisfied)

Country Recommendation Score(1-5) Satisfaction Score(1-4)

United States 4.19 3.17

South Korea 3.91 2.95

Japan 3.88 3

France 4.46 3.33

China 4.10 2.99

Taiwan 3.86 2.95

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/20/new-survey-offers-insights-international-student-satisfaction-three-countries
Pull Factor: Work
10/40 of the interviewees immigrated in the
pursuit of work or because of a job
"It was cleaning, which I
didn’t like. I was accustomed
to working in construction.
We couldn’t get into the job
because they were
unionized."
- Michael Clark, Barbados
Immigrant workers’ pay

“I worked at a sub
shop for my first job
getting paid
$3.50/hour” - Raana
Khavandgar
- Factoring in different
interests rates that's
around $9.00/hour
today
So what? (theo)

“A.D” immigrants arrive with an open mind. They chose America for its culture

“Education” immigrants come with an open future. They chose America for its
schools

“Job” immigrants come with their future already planned. They chose America for
its work opportunities or not at all
Citations

“Are International Students Satisfied?” New survey offers insights on international student

satisfaction in three countries, Inside Higher Ed,

www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/20/new-survey-offers-insights-international-student-sat

isfaction-three-countries.

“Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States.”

Migrationpolicy.org, 6 Apr. 2017,

www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-u

nited-states.
Citations (cont.)

McCarthy, Niall. “The Massive Wage Gap Between U.S. Citizens And

Immigrants [Infographic].” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Mar. 2017,

www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/03/07/the-massive-wage-gap-between-

u-s-citizens-and-immigrants-infographic/#53bfc5af3e65.