The H2 Visa process in the catfish industry

Authors

  • Kirsten Dellinger University of Mississippi

https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.2015.1662

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Abstract

This article builds on global ethnography, transnational feminist sociology, and gendered organizations to examine the processes and practices required to obtain H2 visas, temporary work permits for non-U.S. citizens seeking employment in agriculture and non-agricultural sectors. The article is based on ethnographic observation at a U.S. Consulate in Mexico with a focus on observing the process experienced by a group of Mexican workers seeking H2-A Visas to work on a catfish farm in Mississippi. I argue that by more carefully examining the roles and perspectives of the catfish farm manager and a U.S. Consulate Director in the process of obtaining the H2-A visas, we can move beyond “globalization from above” or “globalization from below” perspectives to a more nuanced understanding of what transnationalism looks like from the middle. In addition, by applying a gendered organizations framework to understanding the H2 visa process at an interactional level, I demonstrate how the definition of the “good worker” is gendered.

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Author Biography

Kirsten Dellinger, University of Mississippi

Associate Professor of Sociology

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Published

2015-10-25

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How to Cite

Dellinger, K. (2015). The H2 Visa process in the catfish industry. Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.2015.1662

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