Woodrow-Lafield, Karen A., Xiaohe Xu, Thomas Kersen, and Bunnak Poch. 2000. “Gender and the Family Reunification Hypothesis for Naturalization.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Los Angeles, California, March 23-25, 2000.



This paper presents initial analyses of immigrant and naturalization records to revisit labor force attachment and family reunification hypotheses for explaining naturalization. Alternative views of naturalization are as a step conveying rights for sponsoring family members as immigrants, as a measure of incorporation or integration, or as a way of assuring access to public benefits and better health. Focusing on immigrants of ten major Latin American and Asian origins (Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, China, India, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam), the data include about two million adults admitted over 1978-1987. Pooled and origin-specific hazards models are estimated for duration to naturalization. Among findings, greater attachment to the labor force is associated with greater propensity toward naturalizing. Second, those immigrants likely to have fewer family members in the United States are more likely to naturalize. Third, differentials by gender and origin are found, suggesting roles for cultural contexts, demographic diversity, and social capital. Finally, Western Hemisphere immigrants seem to have become more likely to naturalize after extension of the preference system and per country limitations.