Scholars have identified the negative effects of discrimination on immigrants’ well-being by focusing on the nature of discrimination. However, whether the social status of immigrants influences the effects of discrimination on well-being remains unclear. To answer this question, this study extends current research by focusing on how immigrants’ occupational status moderates the effects of discrimination on well-being. Based on two sets of survey data, the results show that skilled immigrants are more likely to be negatively affected by discrimination than are unskilled immigrants. This phenomenon might be explained by the immigrants’ comparisons of discrimination experiences prior to migration. The findings suggest that to explain the mechanism underlying discrimination's negative effect on immigrants’ psychological well-being, researchers should pay more attention to immigrants’ characteristics and their experiences before migration. The results of this study have important implications for immigration policy in Japan and other ethnically homogeneous countries, such as South Korea. © 2017 The Author. International Migration © 2017 IOM

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international migration Japan immigration policy South Korea skilled labor immigrant socioeconomic status