Date Available
9-18-2015
Year of Publication
2015
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Geography
First Advisor
Dr. Michael Samers
Abstract
Over the past two decades, an increasing number of IT professionals from India have been migrating to the United States on temporary H-1B or F-1 visas. This thesis offers a case study to address how migrants on such temporary visas decide whether to seek further residency in the United States or return to India. Based on interviews conducted in 2013 and 2014 in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, I examine the factors migrants consider, as well as how the struggles presented through the visa programs may effect these considerations. I also analyze how mass migration from India has changed the demographics of the suburbs between Raleigh and Durham. Considering the rise of Indian-related commercial and cultural centers, I offer the concept of Li’s (1998) ‘ethnoburbs’ as a way of thinking about how changes in suburban cultural landscape may make Indian migrants feel more comfortable in the area. I also assert some access problems inherent in the ‘ethnoburb’ model.
Recommended Citation
Ashley, Andrew Robert Patrick, "Should We Stay or Should We Go?: A Study of Indian IT Migrants in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina: Deciding to Stay in the United States or Return to India" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--Geography. 38.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/38
