Poor American kids whose parents were born in India or China tend to make it into the upper middle class. 
In general, mobility tends to be higher for Americans whose parents are from Asia, the Middle East, South Europe, and South America, and lower for those with parents from the Caribbean, Central America, and West Europe.
My bet is that this pattern is mostly due to selection effects - what type of poor people immigrate to America from each country - rather than to deep cultural differences.
