Dual Liminality Conditioned by Existing Citizenship: Highly Skilled Chinese Immigrants Navigating Legality and Career in the U.S.

Abstract

Immigrants need to constantly manage their legal status while straddling uncertain life circumstances and shifting policies. U.S. immigrant policies treat immigrants based on U.S. internal and international political needs. This practice is only further heightened during a global crisis such as the recent COVID‐19 pandemic. Immigrants' existing citizenship contributes to the constraints they experience. Using Chinese international students studying in graduate programs as an example, this paper studies the dual liminality highly skilled immigrants experience in sustaining their legal status and developing their careers. Adopting a life course perspective, this paper reveals that liminal legality constrains immigrants' career choices as they transition from students to full‐time professionals. Acquiring legal status takes precedence over their career goals. They may forfeit career opportunities to secure legal status. Moreover, their Chinese citizenship hinders their career advancement. In recent years, United States–China rivalry in international politics and intellectual competition has intensified. Combined with a racialized construction of U.S. citizenship, highly skilled Chinese immigrants experience a heightened sense of vulnerability vis‐a‐vis institutional scrutiny and mistreatment.