Innovation and STEM Fields
For America to compete in the 21st century, we need a robust innovation economy—which requires a workforce skilled in the science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) fields. Yet American students are not entering those industries in sufficient numbers, and the United States is projected to face a shortage of one million STEM workers by 2022.1 Foreign-born students frequently gravitate towards STEM disciplines, making up roughly one out of every three individuals earning graduate-level STEM degrees each year. Our broken visa system, however, makes it difficult for many of them to stay after graduation—a reality that hurts the ability of our employers to expand and create more opportunity for American workers. 1 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, "Engage to Excel: Producing 1 million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics," February 2012. Available online.
Rush for H-1B visas is on
Applicants for H-1B visas — those that allow foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree to temporarily work at specialty jobs in the US — are facing fierce competition this year. “There is a 60 percent increase in cases we receive this year compared with last year,” Los Angeles-based… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN DELAWARE
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com DELAWARE FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 3.8 STEM job openings were posted online in Delaware for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the… Read More
How U.S. immigration laws push American startups out of America
All it took was a few days in New York City for P.J. Cobut to fall in love with America. For a kid growing up in a sleepy, rural town in Belgium, the Big Apple’s frenetic bustle was intoxicating. He loved it. All he wanted was to go back, this… Read More
Nathan Bomey: Visa policy threatens Michigan economy
In a post-industrial, global economy, the most vital asset for companies is talent. So it’s remarkable that U.S. immigration policy forces tens of thousands of high-skilled foreign workers to leave this country every year, effectively handing an incredible advantage to foreign competitors. Lest you think this is simply a Silicon… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN COLORADO
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com COLORADO FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 1.5 STEM job openings were posted online in Colorado for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in… Read More
Brazilian Innovator & UC Boulder Grad Faces Immigration Hurdles While Building Career in U.S.
Pedro Sorrentino had been working with tech startups in his native São Paulo, Brazil when he decided he wanted to move to the United States and pursue an education and a career change. “I wanted to move here because America was built on immigrants,” he says. But despite our history,… Read More
Immigration laws should strengthen US, not its rivals
Yesterday marked the close of the five-day filing period when U.S. companies could apply for H-1B visas to bring high-skilled workers from around the world to work here next year. The annual cap was exceeded in those few days, and a lottery will be held to determine which workers… Read More
Getting a Visa Took Longer Than Building Instagram, Says Immigrant Co-Founder
Instagram almost didn’t happen, and the U.S.’s convoluted immigration system would have been to blame. Before Mike Krieger created the wildly popular photo-sharing app with business partner Kevin Systrom, he was living in Silicon Valley on a temporary work visa. If not for some lucky breaks navigating the country’s immigration process,… Read More
Michigan’s global economy
Politicians are apt to hold press conferences for projects that announce even a few hundred jobs. Can you imagine the headline for a government action that produced 15,000 jobs that paid salaries ranging from $60,000 to even $100,000? Research from the Partnership for a New American Economy—a collection of forward-thinking… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN CALIFORNIA
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com CALIFORNIA FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 1.4 STEM job openings were posted online in California for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the… Read More
Outsize Role in the Workforce
Immigrants punch above their weight class in the STEM fields, making up far larger portions of the STEM workforce than they do the U.S. population overall. This dynamic is particularly pronounced in several states. In New Jersey, for instance, immigrants make up almost two out of every five STEM workers, while accounting for only one in five of the state’s residents.
States with the Highest Share of Foreign-Born STEM Workers, 2014
Labor Shortages
In recent years, many U.S. employers have struggled to find enough STEM workers. This lack of manpower has real consequences for the economy—making it difficult for firms to expand and create jobs for American workers at all skill levels. In several specialized fields, like physical science and software development, the unemployment rates of U.S.-born STEM workers are particularly low, indicating there are simply not enough U.S.-born workers to meet the needs of employers.
Take a look at our latest research about the shortage of STEM workers.
U.S. Citizen Unemployment Rates in STEM Fields Most Heavily Reliant on Immigrant STEM Workers, 2014
Earning STEM Degrees
International students make up a large share of STEM graduate students. In 2014, more than a quarter of STEM master’s degrees and more than a third of STEM Ph.D. degrees went to students in the country on temporary visas. Meanwhile, the number of American citizen and permanent resident students pursuing graduate degrees in science and engineering fields actually fell by 6.3 percent between 2010 and 2013.2 Our broken immigration system means that many of these international students will struggle to remain in the country after graduation, despite employers needing them.
Sources:
2 National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2016, Appendix Table 2-25. Available online.
Share of Ph.D.'s in Selected Fields Going to Students on Temporary Visas, 2014
States Graduating the Most STEM Students on Temporary Visas, 2014
States Needing STEM Workers
While every state was short STEM workers in 2015, the shortage was particularly acute in North Dakota and South Dakota, where employers listed 87 and 71 STEM positions, respectively, for each unemployed STEM worker. These are gaps that immigrants could help fill. In South Dakota, for instance, immigrants made up just three percent of all STEM workers in 2015, one of the lowest shares in the country.
States with Greatest Shortages of STEM Workers, 2014
Creating U.S. Jobs
Rather than reduce the number of jobs available to American workers, foreign-born STEM graduates often create additional jobs for U.S.-born workers. Research shows that when a state gains 100 foreign-born STEM workers with graduate-level training from a U.S. school, an average of 262 jobs are created for U.S.-born workers there in the seven years that follow.3 More specifically, the temporary visa (H-1B) program for high-skilled workers is also linked to job creation for American workers and economic growth. However, the current system fails not only to provide visas that companies need to grow, but also to protect against fraud and abuse.
Sources:
3 Madeline Zavodny, “Immigration and American Jobs,” The Partnership for a New American Economy and the American Enterprise Institute, 2011. Available online.
States that Stand to Gain the Most from Retaining More Foreign-Born STEM Graduates
The Impact of our Broken Immigration System
Since the recession, some of the most robust growth in high-wage, American jobs has occurred in cities. The high-tech companies fueling this growth cannot succeed and grow, however, without qualified STEM professionals—a group that can be difficult to find. An annual cap on the number of available green cards and H-1B visas hinders efforts to hire immigrant STEM professionals when no American workers are available. At right, we explore how the H-1B requests for computer-related workers that did not make it through the 2007 and 2008 H-1B visa lotteries impacted wages and the number of jobs available for U.S.-born tech workers in the two years that followed.4
Sources:
4 Partnership for a New American Economy, “Closing Economic Windows: How H-1B Visa Denials Cost U.S.-Born Tech Workers Jobs and Wages During the Great Recession," June 4, 2014. Available online.
Metropolitan Areas Hurt Most by 2007 and 2008 Denials in the H-1B Lottery
Driving Innovation
International STEM students and graduates are behind some of America’s most impressive innovations, from artificial skin to moldable metal. Studies show that immigrants with an advanced degree are three times more likely than U.S.-born graduate degree holders to file a patent. When universities increase their share of international students, they often receive more patents—boosting revenue and creating more opportunities for all students.
Share of Patents Awarded to Top Patent Producing Research Universities with at Least One Foreign-Born Inventor, 2011
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