E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Visa Policy

Visa Policy

Visa policy is the process by which countries decide which noncitizens they wish to admit—either as short-term travelers, international students, temporary workers, or permanent immigrants. Beyond setting quotas and outlining which characteristics are most important in immigrant selection, visa policy also has a public diplomacy aspect, with visa facilitation, for example, serving as a sign of the strength of bilateral relations. The research here examines the permutations of visa policy around the world.

 

 

Recent Activity

Venezuelan migrants at the Colombian border.
Articles
April 11, 2023
In a Dramatic Shift, the Americas Have Become a Leading Migration Destination
By Andrew Selee, Valerie Lacarte, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Diego Chaves-González, María Jesús Mora, and Andrea Tanco
Multimedia
March 30, 2023
New Avenues to Help Refugees Get to Safety and Restart Their Lives
Multimedia
March 15, 2023
The Golden Ticket? Exploring the World of Investor Visas
Cover image for Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean
Reports
March 2023
Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review
By  Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
Cover image for Unblocking the U.S. Immigration System
Policy Briefs
February 2023
Unblocking the U.S. Immigration System: Executive Actions to Facilitate the Migration of Needed Workers
By  Julia Gelatt
Cover image for External Processing report
Reports
February 2023
External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?
By  Pauline Endres de Oliveira and Nikolas Feith Tan
Multimedia
February 2, 2023
In from the Cold? Should Climate Migrants Get Special Legal Migration Pathways?
President Joe Biden at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Articles
January 26, 2023
Biden at the Two-Year Mark: Significant Immigration Actions Eclipsed by Record Border Numbers
By Muzaffar Chishti and Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Pages

Cover image for African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses
Reports
October 2021
African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses
By  Caitlyn Yates and Jessica Bolter
Cover image for Toward a Better Immigration System: Fixing Immigration Governance at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Reports
October 2021
Toward a Better Immigration System: Fixing Immigration Governance at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
By  Doris Meissner and Ruth Ellen Wasem
Cover image for Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth
Reports
September 2021
Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways: Opportunities for Growth
By  Susan Fratzke, Maria Belen Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper, Hanne Beirens, Lena Kainz, Nathan Benson, Eliza Bateman and Jessica Bolter
Cover image for Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
Reports
July 2021
Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton
Cover image for From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action
Policy Briefs
June 2021
From Unilateral Response to Coordinated Action: How Can Mobility Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Adapt to the Public-Health Challenges of COVID-19?
By  Ling San Lau, Kate Hooper and Monette Zard
Sentando las bases para una cooperación regional
Reports
April 2021
Sentando las bases para una cooperación regional: Política migratoria y capacidad institucional en México y Centroamérica
By  Andrew Selee, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Andrea Tanco, Luis Argueta and Jessica Bolter
Laying the Foundation for Regional Cooperation: Migration Policy and Institutional Capacity in Mexico and Central America
Reports
April 2021
Laying the Foundation for Regional Cooperation: Migration Policy & Institutional Capacity in Mexico and Central America
By  Andrew Selee, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Andrea Tanco, Luis Argueta and Jessica Bolter
coverthumb_covid19 global mobility 2020
Reports
April 2021
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020
By  Meghan Benton, Jeanne Batalova, Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Timo Schmidt

Pages

Close-up image of passport with third gender X marker
Feature
August 17, 2022
Rise of X: Governments Eye New Approaches for Trans and Nonbinary Travelers

In 2022, the United States joined a growing list of countries that allow for a third gender option (the “X” marker) in passports. This article examines the introduction of the X marker, the impacts of third gender markers for transgender and nonbinary travelers and migrants as well as border management systems, and the evolving policy landscape ahead.

Image of young Afghan girls.
Policy Beat
July 13, 2022
Welcoming Afghans and Ukrainians to the United States: A Case in Similarities and Contrasts

The sluggishness of an overwhelmed U.S. immigration system and long lead times for refugee resettlement pushed government officials to use ad hoc pathways for Afghans and Ukrainians to enter the United States, with a two-year parole status given to most. This article examines the use of parole, the Uniting for Ukraine sponsorship program, and how the use of ad hoc statuses could evolve for future crises.

Migrants and natives dance at a multicultural celebration in La Vega, Chile.
Profile
May 18, 2022
Chile’s Welcoming Approach to Immigrants Cools as Numbers Rise

In the years since its return to democracy, Chile has emerged as a major immigration destination within South America. Yet recent large-scale migrant arrivals from Haiti and Venezuela have shaken the country’s politics and at times overwhelmed a decades-old immigration framework that critics contended was woefully out of date. New reforms could tighten immigration, but many questions remain. This country profile analyzes migration to Chile particularly since 1990.

People in France rally for far-right politician Marine Le Pen on May Day.
Profile
May 5, 2022
France Reckons with Immigration Amid Reality of Rising Far Right

Over recent decades, France has sought to build a more selective immigration system that welcomes students and well-educated workers but enacts restrictions for asylum seekers. This country profile examines France's immigration policies and trends, including the rise of far-right political parties that have used immigration as a wedge to increase their base and their influence.

A woman in Italy is vaccinated before travel in 1951.
Feature
April 6, 2022
Vaccine Requirements Predate the COVID-19 Pandemic by More than a Century

Requirements that international travelers and migrants prove vaccination against certain diseases are about as old as vaccines themselves. In some cases, vaccine certificates predated the existence of government-issued passports. This article explores the history of these requirements, which began with smallpox and have since been applied for diseases including cholera, polio, yellow fever, and, recently, COVID-19.

Pages

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Commentaries
September 2015
The Asylum Crisis in Europe: Designed Dysfunction
By  Elizabeth Collett
graeme_hugo_highres
Commentaries
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
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Commentaries
January 2014
Valuing Citizenship: A Commodity or an Identity?
By  Elizabeth Collett

Pages

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

biden campaign 2020
Video, Expert Q&A, Audio
November 9, 2020

What Is Immigration Policy Expected to Look Like in a Biden Administration?

What actions might the incoming Biden administration take on immigration, whether to unwind some of the most restrictive Trump policies or advance an affirmative agenda of its own? And what challenges and opportunities will the Biden administration face?

Moving Beyond Pandemic: The COVID-19 Shock to the System of Human Mobility and the International Response with Elizabeth Collett
Expert Q&A, Audio
October 28, 2020

The COVID-19 Shock to the System of Human Mobility and the International Response

 
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Video, Audio
October 22, 2020

COVID-19, the Withdrawal Agreement and Citizens' Rights: No Time to Waste

This webinar explores how governments’ implementation plans for the Brexit withdrawal agreement have been affected by COVID-19, and the potential implications for citizens’ rights at the end of the transition period and beyond.

Video
September 21, 2020

17th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

This year’s Immigration Law and Policy Conference examines the immigration policy agenda under the Trump administration, including changes in the asylum system; the vast societal upheaval brought on by COVID-19 and the rising racial justice movement; what the future of U.S. immigration may look like; and many other topics related to U.S. immigration policy.

Pages

Recent Activity

Commentaries
June 2022

The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas

The Los Angeles Agreement on Migration and Protection signed by leaders from 20 countries across the Western Hemisphere at the 2022 Summit of the Americas marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across a region that has seen very significant mobility in recent years, as this commentary explains.

Reports
June 2022

COVID-19’s Effects on U.S. Immigration and Immigrant Communities, Two Years On

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic recession have affected the lives of all U.S. residents, but immigrants have been among the hardest hit, with evidence of disproportionately high rates of death as well as a particularly high spike in unemployment. This report takes a look back at how the COVID-19 crisis has affected U.S. immigration policies and levels and the country’s immigrant communities.

Articles
May 18, 2022

Chile’s Welcoming Approach to Immigrants Cools as Numbers Rise

In the years since its return to democracy, Chile has emerged as a major immigration destination within South America. Yet recent large-scale migrant arrivals from Haiti and Venezuela have shaken the country’s politics and at times overwhelmed a decades-old immigration framework that critics contended was woefully out of date. New reforms could tighten immigration, but many questions remain. This country profile analyzes migration to Chile particularly since 1990.

Reports
May 2022

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021

Despite high hopes that international movement would be revived in 2021 after the deep chill in 2020 with designation of a global pandemic, cross-border mobility remained limited as migrants and travelers faced complex rules, high costs, and uncertainty as new COVID-19 variants emerged. This report assesses global mobility in 2021, including changing use of travel restrictions, their impacts on mobile populations, and efforts to safely restart migration and travel.

Articles
May 5, 2022

France Reckons with Immigration Amid Reality of Rising Far Right

Over recent decades, France has sought to build a more selective immigration system that welcomes students and well-educated workers but enacts restrictions for asylum seekers. This country profile examines France's immigration policies and trends, including the rise of far-right political parties that have used immigration as a wedge to increase their base and their influence.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 20, 2022

With Millions of Unfilled U.S. Jobs, What Role Is There for Immigration?

Experts on this webinar examined the scope and reality of skills shortages and the role of immigrants in the U.S. labor market, ways to address the underemployment of highly skilled immigrants, and how immigrants and immigration policy can be used to fulfil needs in the education sector, STEM occupations, and other skills needs. The webinar also marked the launch of Leveraging the Skills of Immigrant Health-Care Professionals in Illinois and Chicago,

Commentaries
April 2022

Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America

With migration from Central America increasing, the region from Canada to Panama faces an opportunity to build an effective regional approach to migration by focusing on several areas that are ripe for significant policy innovation. This commentary sketches a vision, offering a road map to more detailed research that outlines strategies for cooperation on legal pathways, humanitarian protection, migration management, and sustainable development.

Articles
April 6, 2022

Vaccine Requirements Predate the COVID-19 Pandemic by More than a Century

Requirements that international travelers and migrants prove vaccination against certain diseases are about as old as vaccines themselves. In some cases, vaccine certificates predated the existence of government-issued passports. This article explores the history of these requirements, which began with smallpox and have since been applied for diseases including cholera, polio, yellow fever, and, recently, COVID-19.

Pages