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.
Syrian Biotech Grad Ready to Aid U.S. Cancer Research
When Alnairouz “Nairouz” K. first arrived in America to study biotechnology and genetics at West Virginia State University, the transition was hard. Her family remained behind in Syria, and Nairouz struggled to adapt. “When I came here, everyone spoke English with a different accent, and they spoke very fast,” she… Read More
Silicon Valley vs Trump: Understanding The Effect Of Immigration Ban On The World’s Tech Hub
“Making America great again,” is one of the well-known catchphrases of Pres. Donald Trump. In his road to achieving this goal, one particular order issued by the president that many U.S. citizens have mixed feelings for is the barring of immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. With this being said, how… Read More
GoDaddy CEO: If You’re Against Outsourcing, You Should Support U.S. Visas For Skilled Foreigners
Last week a preliminary draft order titled “Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs” surfaced that targets H-1B “genius” visas. The order signaled a second wave of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda— with potentially catastrophic effects to the U.S. economy. I’ve written and… Read More
Let Those Already Here Give America Their Best Skills, Says Jamaican Immigrant
When Noreen Hartley arrived in Atlanta from Jamaica in 1996, she was fortunate to quickly find work as a call-center supervisor. But the 33-year-old former bank manager wanted to get back into accounting. There was one problem: Every time she applied for accountant jobs, she was told she didn’t have… Read More
Pioneering Researcher in Electric Cars Questions the Economic Wisdom of Restricting Immigrants
Chinese immigrant Shanjun Li, an associate professor at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, has devoted his career to helping improve the American economy — and our environment — through his pioneering work in environmental and energy economics. Li’s research is widely cited by… Read More
Young Immigrant Entrepreneur Has a Light-Bulb Moment
Viktor Klyachko believes that maintaining a healthy business community is essential to progress. “Business is what propels the world forward,” he says. Klyachko is the founder of Green Ignite, a company based in Utica, New York, that provides LED lighting systems to wholesalers throughout the Northeast. Launched in 2013, Green… Read More
Immigrants Vital to Help Tech Startups Become Multibillion Dollar Companies Here in the U.S.
From the moment he was offered a job at a tech startup in San Mateo, Calif. in 2013, Brazilian-born software engineer Rocir Santiago, worried that U.S. immigration policy would create unnecessary obstacles for his family and career. “The visa process is complex and uncertain. It discourages people from moving to… Read More
Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States
The United States has long attracted some of the world’s best and brightest. But nearly 2 million immigrants with college degrees are relegated to low-skilled jobs or can’t find work. The result of this brain waste? If these highly skilled immigrants were working at their skill level, in the professions… Read More
Billions of Dollars in Tax Receipts Forgone Annually as Nearly 2 Million Highly Skilled Immigrants in U.S. Are Stuck in Low-Skilled Jobs or Unemployed
U.S. is Home to Almost 2 Million Underutilized Immigrants, Including Almost Half a Million with STEM Degrees WASHINGTON – The United States has long attracted some of the world’s best and brightest. But nearly 2 million immigrants with college degrees are relegated to low-skilled jobs or can’t… Read More
International Students Top One Million, Contributing $32.8 Billion to U.S. Economy
For the first time, the number of international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities exceeded one million, making up over 5 percent of the 20 million students pursuing higher education in the United States during the 2015-2016 academic year. These 1,043,839 international students represent a 7.1-percent increase from 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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