International Students
Although they account for just five percent of all students in U.S. colleges and universities, international students play an important role in our economy. They gravitate towards the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, producing a large number of patents and gaining skills that help our employers innovate and compete. They spend tens of billions of dollars as consumers, supporting local businesses. And the companies they go on to found—such as Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia—employ hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.
Andrés Moreno Founded the Largest Online English School. Let’s Welcome More People Like Him
At the age of 25, with just $700 in his pocket, Venezuelan-born Andrés Moreno booked a flight to Silicon Valley, California. It was the right move at the right time for the young man. In Menlo Park, Moreno raised money from angel investors, slept on friends’ sofas and spent two… Read More
Economist and College President: Those Students the U.S. Sends Home? They Could be the Next Google
Growing up in a middle-class family in Monterrey, Mexico, Jorge Gonzalez saw people living around him in poverty and longed to change the world. Now a respected professor of economics and the newly appointed president of Kalamazoo College, where he oversees more than 100 faculty and some 1,400 undergraduates, he… Read More
Visa Restrictions Delay Opening of Doctor’s Rural Texas Clinic for Years
Indian immigrant and doctor Lata Shridharan provides a vital service to the people of Plano, Texas, and Frisco, Texas. Combined the two locations of her clinic, Natural Pediatrics, serve nearly 2,000 people and employs 10 Americans. The clinic also fuses Western and Eastern medicine, which offers patients a diversity of… Read More
Her Dream is Public Service, But it Hangs on Her Immigration Status
At the closing ceremony for the 2015 summer class of interns at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), 21-year-old Daniela Martinez delivered the farewell address. During her speech, the young leader addressed an audience that included Representatives Linda T. Sánchez, Henry Cuellar, Jim Costa, Ruben Gallego, Raúl Grijalva, Ben Ray… Read More
St. Louis Lawyer Sees Businesses Falter When Immigration Policy Blocks Foreign Hires
A senior partner at Polsinelli, a law firm in St. Louis, Doreen Dodson often works with American businesses that want to hire talented foreign nationals. “Many of these companies want international employees with a specialized skill set, ranging from medical technologists and computer scientists to professional winemakers,” she says. Read More
Immigration Policy Is Preventing This New York Family From Fully Contributing to U.S. Economy
Rosibel Granada is proud of what her three sons—ages 19, 22, and 28—have been able to accomplish since they came to the United States 13 years ago from El Salvador. The eldest works in real estate; her middle child is a chef; and the youngest is in community college, studying… Read More
Engineer Bears Witness to the U.S. Losing Many Talented STEM Workers Because of Immigration Policy
According to Jack O’Toole, the founder of a Dartmouth College-based company called FreshAir Sensor LLC, much of the product’s success is owed to Kwame Ohene-Adu, a Ghanaian immigrant. Ohene-Adu, came to the United States for college and earned two Dartmouth degrees in just five years: a bachelor’s degree in engineering… Read More
This Undocumented Student Wants Immigration Reform so She Can Contribute Even More to her Community
Barbara, a healthcare worker in Fayetteville, Arkansas, always did well in school. In kindergarten, she quickly learned English with the help of a friend. In second grade, she found confidence in small math competitions. And when she got to ninth grade, she began her involvement with student council. She managed… Read More
Despite Legal Status, Fear of Forced Return to Mexico for a Dedicated Austin Teacher
When Areli Zarate crossed the border from Mexico at the age of eight, she was with her three brothers, the oldest of whom was nine. They didn’t have any adults with them—their parents were already in the United States—but the four knew that their lives were changing forever. Sixteen years… Read More
Immigrants Are to Thank for San Antonio’s Dynamic Business Growth Says Chamber of Commerce Chair
“I’m one of three doctors in my family,” says Dr. Esteban Lopez. “Well, we like to joke that we have two real doctors and then a dentist.” The internist and pediatrician comes from a family of six children, all of whom have at least an undergraduate education. It’s a fact… Read More
Fueling the Economy
About 18.5 million foreign-born students study at American colleges and universities. In addition to their academic and cultural contributions, they support the economies of college communities through tuition payments and spending on housing, books, and other day-to-day expenses.1
Sources:
1 “NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool | NAFSA,” accessed June 28, 2016. Available online.
Innovating for the Future
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.2 When universities increase their share of international students, they often receive more patents—boosting revenue and creating more opportunities for all students.
Sources:
2 Jennifer Hunt and Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, “How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?,” NBER Working Paper, (September 2008). Available online.
3 Chellaraj, Gnanaraj, Keith E. Maskus, and Aaditya Mattoo. 2005. “The Contribution of Skilled Immigration and International Graduate Students to US Innovation.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (3588). Retrieved November 10, 2014. Available online.
Share of Patents Awarded to Research Institutions with at Least One Foreign-Born Inventor, 2011
From Graduates to Entrepreneurs
The inventions of foreign-born students often do more than just earn patents. They spawn start-ups and new divisions of companies that create jobs for American workers. Foreign-born students at American schools founded companies like Sun Microsystems (now a part of Oracle), Google, and Yahoo!.
Sources:
4 Edward B. Roberts, Fiona Murray, and J. Daniel Kim, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation at MIT: Continuing Global Growth and Impact” (MIT Innovation Initiative, December 2015). Available online.
5 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Boosting State Economies
In 2015, the large number of international students in both New York and California generated close to $4 billion in revenue for each state. In eight states, foreign-born students generated revenues in excess of $1 billion—supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
States where International Students Make the Largest Economic Impact
Educating the Next Generation
Foreign-born professionals play a large role in educating American students. In 22 states, the occupation “postsecondary teacher” ranks among the top 10 jobs in which immigrants make up the largest share of workers. In six of those states, that role ranks among the top three jobs most heavily reliant on immigrants.
States with the Highest Share of Immigrant Postsecondary Teachers, 2014
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