Brazilian immigrants in the United States experience socioeconomic changes and engage in various professional occupations. Migrant livelihoods and experiences are affected in two receiving communities in the United States (Framingham, Massachusetts, and Marietta, Georgia), and in two sending communities in Brazil (Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba).What are themost common professional occupations among Brazilians immigrants, and what were their professional occupations prior to migrating? How are immigrants' livelihoods and experiences being shaped by current economic exchanges spurred by immigration? I evaluate these important questions by looking at changes at the micro-level, within migrants' occupations, experiences, and economic transactions. By weaving though survey results and excerpts from a total of 273 interviews in two receiving communities and returnees in two sending communities, I illustrate howmigration processes have significantly affected ethnic economies and livelihoods at the micro-level in both receiving and sending communities. Most returnees had worked in service sector occupations, such as construction work among men, and housecleaning among women; and, among those who remained in the United States, became business owners, teachers, or continued to work within service sectors. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Ethnic economies return migration Transnationalism Brazilian immigration Ethnic geography

ethnic group return migration immigration policy Marietta immigrant Brazil refugee socioeconomic conditions