This thesis uses citizenship as a framework for understanding the historical and contemporary employment and immigration of Pakistanis in the United States. In the 20th century, the path to citizenship was marked by legal battles and shifting definitions of what exactly citizenship meant. The landmark case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind notably restricted South Asian immigrants’ access to citizenship, limiting their rights and leaving lasting effects of alienation across the broader South Asian community. This research focuses on Pakistani professionals in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa, such as the J-1 or H-1B, and how modern immigration policies have affected them and their employment. Today, the pathway to citizenship remains difficult, lengthy, and exclusive. While Pakistani professionals have long been valued for their skills in medicine, IT, and engineering, U.S. immigration law has simultaneously constructed a system of precarious belonging by tying legal status to employer sponsorship, geographic labor needs, and shifting security priorities. Rooted in early 20th-century racial exclusions and reaffirmed in post-9/11 national security frameworks, today’s nonimmigrant visa programs, especially the H-1B and J-1, create a labor system that made Pakistani workers essential and disposable but also politically constrained. Through analysis and first-hand narratives, this thesis shows how professional Pakistani migrants are not only structurally dependent on employers for legal status but also required, in some cases, to work in medically underserved or rural areas, which limits their geographic and professional autonomy, limiting their long-term integration.