We have observed a divergence in immigration policy during the period of large-scale labor immigration. The industrialized states of Western Europe made similar economic gains, but they differed in immigration policy, since their preconditions of immigration were in many respects markedly different, and since some states mainly admitted colonial immigrants, while others relied on recruitment of foreign labor.

In this final chapter, we will argue that policy divergence has come to an end; instead, there is now a trend towards policy convergence. In fact, this trend started when recruitment of foreign labor was terminated at the beginning of the 1970s, at what we have called the turning point. But this does not mean that most differences between the project countries' immigration regulation have disappeared, nor that immigrant policy has assumed one and the same form everywhere. The implication is only that a slow and continuous shift in policies has brought the six project countries closer to one another than before. Discussion of a number of explanations for this convergence will allow us to sum up some of the major conclusions from previous chapters. In a short diversion, the immigration policy of the United States will then be compared to the European experiences, and finally, some recommendations will be offered, based on the comparative analysis.