I am a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Yale University. I am on the 2025-2026 job market.

What drives labor mobility and patterns of social inequality in a globalized world? As a sociologist and social demographer, I examine how key institutions—immigration policy, employers, and the family—structure opportunities and exclusions across national borders. Much of this work lies at the intersection of immigration, family demography, the labor market, and organizations. 

My dissertation examines how U.S. immigration policy and employers together shape the lives of high-skilled immigrants. I show how temporary visa programs, such as the H-1B, operate both as the primary pathway to skill-based immigration and a mechanism of stratification—binding migrants to employer control, restricting access to permanent residency, and reinforcing racial inequality. Drawing on large-scale administrative records from government agencies, nationally representative survey data, and a longitudinal interview study of 70 elite immigrant youth, I develop the concept of the paradox of deservingness. This concept captures the gap between immigrants’ presumed merit and their paradoxical exclusion from stable employment and legal membership, showing how the system undermines the promise of meritocracy.

My broader research examines family inequalities and social stratification in global contexts. I have studied fertility and childcare disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, union formation in China, and the influence of family background on educational outcomes in both the U.S. and China.

My articles are published in journals such as Sociology, Demographic Research, Population Research and Policy Review, Journal of Family Issues, and Chinese Journal of Sociology. I received my B.A. in Sociology and Economics from Grinnell College.

You can view my CV here.