American brain drain

One of the myths dogging the immigration debate is that employers are fibbing (or grossly exaggerating) when they claim that hiring foreign professionals is unavoidable because U.S.-born Ph.D.s are hard to come by. But a new report on doctorates from U.S. universities shows they're telling the truth, and then some, says the Wall Street Journal.

According to the National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago:

Foreign-born students holding temporary visas received 33 per cent of all research doctorates awarded by U.S. universities in 2006, up from 25 per cent in 2001.

But more to the point of business competitiveness, foreign students comprised 44 per cent of science and engineering doctorates last year.

The percentage of doctorates earned by U.S. citizens ranged from lows of 32 per cent in engineering and 47 per cent in physical sciences, to highs of 87 per cent in education and 78 per cent in humanities.

Nevertheless, immigration opponents and economic protectionists still claim that the likes of Intel and Oracle merely want to hire Chinese engineers on the cheap, says the Journal. But in reality:

U.S. law already prohibits companies from paying these foreign nationals less than Americans.

All other things equal, the American job applicant has an advantage because employers are required to pay an additional $4,000-$6,000 in taxes and fees on every H-1B visa holder they hire.

Closing the door to foreign professionals puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage and pushes jobs out of the country, says the Journal. It makes little sense for American universities to educate these talented foreign students, only to send them packing after graduation. Current policies have universities such as MIT and Stanford educating the next generation of innovators – and then deporting them to create wealth elsewhere.

Source: Editorial, American Brain Drain, Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2007.

For text: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119638963734709017.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks

For more on Immigration Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=34

FMF Policy Bulletin/ 04 December 2007