The Effect of Access to Citizenship on Immigrant Integration and Health

Last registered on February 11, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Access to Citizenship on Immigrant Integration and Health
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007148
Initial registration date
February 09, 2021

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 11, 2021, 11:56 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
New York State

Primary Investigator

Name
Vasil Yasenov
Affiliation
Stanford University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Michael Hotard
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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PI Name
David Laitin
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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PI Name
Duncan Lawrence
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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PI Name
Jens Hainmueller
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2016-07-11
End date
2021-12-31
Keywords
Health, Other
Additional Keywords
Integration, Immigrants
JEL code(s)
J15
Secondary IDs
Abstract
It is commonly claimed that naturalization has positive impacts for immigrants, but it has been challenging to empirically measure these effects due to issues of self-selection. We will quantify the effects of access to naturalization through an experimental study of a public-private program organized by the New York State Office for New Americans (ONA) that helped low-income immigrants to naturalize. Eligible immigrants in New York could register to enter a lottery to win a voucher that would pay their naturalization fee. We will use follow-up surveys to measure the effect that access to citizenship has had on integration and health. The results will be disseminated in studies focusing on the various outcomes specified below.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hainmueller, Jens et al. 2021. "The Effect of Access to Citizenship on Immigrant Integration and Health." AEA RCT Registry. February 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7148-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-07-11
Intervention End Date
2021-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Integration - social, psychological, economic, political, navigational, linguistic
Health - mental health, general health, health insurance
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
NaturalizeNY was a public-private program operating in New York State that promoted naturalization among low-income legal permanent residents who are eligible to naturalize, but may face financial barriers preventing them from doing so. The NaturalizeNY lottery was run in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In each year, immigrants registered for the program and during the registration process their eligibility for the voucher lottery was determined. Registrants who met the program requirements were deemed eligible for the voucher lottery. After the registration period closed, these registrants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. If a participant was assigned to the treatment group, he or she received a voucher that paid the full cost of applying for citizenship ($680 in 2016, $405 or $725 in 2017 and 2018 depending on the immigrant's household (HH) income). The voucher was processed by a specific Office for New Americans Opportunity Centers (OC) in New York. The fee voucher was directly paid to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the OC and could not be used for any other purpose than to pay for the naturalization application. Participants assigned to the control group did not receive a fee voucher.

Each year, the voucher randomization was conducted within blocks. In particular, eligible registrants were assigned to one randomization block based on their geocoded street address provided during the registration and the type of voucher that was needed (whether a person would likely need a full or partial voucher). The geographic blocking was conducted to minimize the distance that lottery winners would have to travel to get their vouchers processed at an OC. A lottery was conducted in all blocks where the demand for the vouchers exceeded the number of available vouchers. The blocks that met this criterion were New York City and Long Island. Only registrants from these blocks are included in the experiment.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2400 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
7200 individual-years
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1200 individuals treatment, 1200 individuals control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Stanford University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2015-11-20
IRB Approval Number
34554
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-Analysis Plan

MD5: ccd4e1a20ab94d20a5c66b1b16cf58a2

SHA1: 46ff4e514369f23a58475c81c6b1ae765280495f

Uploaded At: February 09, 2021

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials