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.
FWD.us and New American Economy Launch National #iCodeImmigration Series
Leading Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Experts Will Discuss the Critical Need for Immigration Reform in 9 Cities Across the U.S. and Call on Congress to Act This Year. New York, NY – New American Economy and FWD.us today launched #iCodeImmigration: Accelerating Immigration Reform, a series of events… Read More
FWD.us and New American Economy Host #iCodeImmigration in NYC
Leading Entrepreneurs, Investors, Technologists, and Policy Experts Will Discuss the Critical Need for Immigration Reform New York, NY – FWD.us will join with New American Economy (NAE) to host #iCodeImmigration events in cities across the country premiering in New York City on Monday, April 21, 2014 at… Read More
It’s All About Talent – Immigration Reform
As a venture capitalist, I spend my time thinking about talent. Who are the best people in the world to invest in? How do I help them attract the best people in the world to team with them to build their companies into massive successes from scratch? That is why… Read More
Statement on U.S. Government Exhausting Supply of H-1B Visas in Less Than A Week
Following the announcement by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that they had run out of their annual allotment of H-1B visas, New American Economy Chairman John Feinblatt issued the following statement: “It took less than a week to hit the existing cap on visas for high-skilled… Read More
American Workers Can’t Wait Another Minute
As Congress returns to Washington in a few days, no more pressing issue faces leaders in the House of Representatives than immigration reform. In 1990, Congress recognized how important immigration was to our economy and passed the Immigration Act of 1990. This law created a new visa category tied to… Read More
More than 100 College and University Leaders Call for Immigration Reform
Leaders from more than 100 colleges and universities across the country urged their Congressional state delegations to support sensible immigration reform that will strengthen America’s economy. The nation’s institutions of higher education have long been magnets for bright, young minds from around the world. Leaders in academia depend on immigrant… Read More
Video – Immigration Reform: Making America Stronger
A new video from the Technology CEO Council reflects on President Ronald Reagan’s vision of America as a “shining city on a hill” that was bolstered by immigrants from around the world, and the positive impact that immigration reform promises for the nation’s future. Read More
Immigration reform can let N.Y. benefit from world’s skills
Cornell University President David J. Skorton, Press Connects A growing number of Americans are coming around to an idea that the tech industry and other business groups have been promoting for quite a while: To fuel economic growth, especially in the tech sector, we need to make it easier for… Read More
Immigrant Scientists Enrich the U.S.
Peter Coclanis, Wall Street Journal July 28, 2013 The economic case for U.S. immigration reform has been made often and well. We know about the striking business success of entrepreneurial immigrants and the children of immigrants. We know about the key roles newcomers to America are playing in economically stressed… Read More
Cheryl Yeoh
My startup Reclip.It is a personalized list-making app featuring weekly ads and digital coupons from top retail stores like Walmart, Macy’s, Walgreens, Target, BestBuy, Home Depot, CVS, and others. The company had raised about $1 million in funding from 500Startups, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and angel investors in Silicon Valley… 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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