Journal of Science Policy & Governance
Volume 25, Issue 01 | October 28, 2024

Policy Brief: International STEM Graduate Students: A Key to Strengthening the American Economy and Building Competitiveness

Brendon E. M. Davis1,#, Milad Razavi-Mohseni2,#, John Soltis3, Hao Nick Zhang4, Erin W. Kavanagh5
  1. Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biology, Baltimore, Maryland
  2. Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland
  3. Johns Hopkins University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Baltimore, Maryland
  4. Johns Hopkins University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland
  5. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Cross-Disciplinary Biomedical Science, Baltimore, Maryland

​#Equal Contribution
​​
​Corresponding author:  [email protected] ​​
Keywords: international STEM retention; international graduate students; US visas; industry growth; US economy
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG250104

Executive Summary

The United States (US) is renowned for offering world-class education to thousands of international students seeking advanced degrees in the STEM fields. However, the US is at risk of losing a significant portion of this talent due to limited visa options. While US funds and resources are invested in training international STEM graduate students, many students are compelled to leave the US for other countries with more favorable visa policies. This potential loss of talent is particularly concerning as China is poised to overtake the US in Research and Development (R&D) investment, while countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, along with China, are seeking to attract foreign high-skilled STEM talents with their visa programs. STEM jobs comprise 48% of the 100 fastest growing jobs in the US while STEM industries such as the semiconductor sector already struggle to meet their growing demand for high-skilled workers. These demands can be alleviated by international STEM graduate students. In order for Congress to leverage this economic opportunity before losing American-trained students to other countries, we propose the following: i) Exempt international STEM graduate students from the visa requirement of proving their intent to leave the US after graduation, ii) Increase or circumvent the annual numerical employment green card cap for international STEM graduate students, iii) Extend the unemployment grace period for H-1B and OPT visa holders to allow sufficient time to find a new job.

-Read the full article through download.-

Background header image courtesy of internationalcitizens.com
Brendon Davis is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Program at Johns Hopkins University. He is studying the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in dividing Drosophila stem cells. Brendon is also part of the 2024 cohort for the ASBMB Advocacy Training Program, and he serves as a Science Policy Coordinator for the JHU Science Policy and Diplomacy Group, through which he interacts with policymakers and expands his science communication skills.
​
Milad Razavi-Mohseni is a Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on cancer genomics, epigenetics, and the role of transcription factors in driving cancer and other diseases. He is a Science Policy Coordinator of the JHU Science Policy and Diplomacy Group, where he is interested in policy initiatives related to STEM and healthcare.

John Soltis is a Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy and Astrophysics at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on machine learning applications to galaxy cluster cosmology, with a focus on characterizing galaxy cluster mass accretion rates. Outside of research, he is active in science policy through the JHU Science and Diplomacy Group, the American Astronomical Society, and the IEEE.

Hao Nick Zhang is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on carbon utilization using electrochemical methods. His goal is to design efficient processes that transform greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels to mitigate the effects of climate change. Outside the lab, Nick works on expanding his skills in science policy, communication, and diplomacy.

Erin Kavanagh is a Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Science at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on nanoparticle chemistry for targeted delivery to the lungs, as well as gene therapies for rare genetic diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis. Additionally, she was a Fulbright Scholar to Germany where she constructed artificial lung devices. Outside of research, she participates in the JHU Science Policy and Diplomacy Group and advocates for patients with rare diseases.​

References

  1. Anderson, Stuart. 2023. AI and Immigrants. (National Foundation for American Policy). ​https://nfap.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AI-AND-IMMIGRANTS.NFAP-Policy-Brief.2023.pdf.
  2. APS. 2021. Building America’s STEM Workforce: Eliminating Barriers and Unlocking Advantages. Office of Government Affairs, American Physical Society. https://www.aps.org/publications/reports/building-americas-stem-workforce.
  3. Arnon, Alex, Vidisha Chowdhury, Duncan Haystead, Brendan Novak, Youran Wu, and Mariko Paulson. 2024. "Budgetary Effects of Granting Green Cards to Immigrants With Advanced Stem Degrees." The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Accessed May 24. https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2024/1/18/budgetary-effects-of-stem-green-cards.
  4. Australia DHA. 2024. "Global Talent visa." Australian Department of Home Affairs. Last Modified March 5. Accessed May 24. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/global-talent-visa-858.
  5. Bier, David J. 2024. Green Card Approval Rate Reaches Record Lows. Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/briefing-paper/green-card-approval-rate-reaches-record-lows.
  6. Bray, Ilona. 2024. “Adjustment of Status (I-485) Fees and Lawyer Costs.” All Law. https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/adjustment-status-i-485-fees-lawyer-costs.html.
  7. Bureau of Consular Affairs. 2024. "Administrative Processing Information." Travel.State.Gov. Accessed May 24. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/administrative-processing-information.html.
  8. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2024. Employment in STEM occupations. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/stem-employment.htm.
  9. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2024. Median Weeks Unemployed [UEMPMED]. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UEMPMED.
  10. Card, David. 2001. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration." Journal of Labor Economics 19 (1): 22-64. https://doi.org/10.1086/209979.
  11. CDC. 2015. Vital Statistics of the United States: 1980-2003. CDC National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/vsus/vsus_1980_2003.htm.
  12. Census Bureau. 2023. "U.S. Population Trends Return to Pre-Pandemic Norms as More States Gain Population." United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-trends-return-to-pre-pandemic-norms.html.
  13. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2022. "Adjustment of Status." United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Last Modified April 1. Accessed May 24. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/adjustment-of-status.
  14. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2023. "Options for Noncitizen STEM Professionals to Work in the United States." United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Last Modified July 31. Accessed May 24. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/options-for-noncitizen-stem-professionals-to-work-in-the-united-states.
  15. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2024. “Fee Calculator.” United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Accessed August 5,2024. https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator.
  16. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024. "H-1B Electronic Registration Process." United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Last Modified April 29. Accessed May 24. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/h-1b-electronic-registration-process.
  17. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024. "Historical National Median Processing Time (in Months) for All USCIS Offices for Select Forms By Fiscal Year." United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Accessed May 24. https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt.
  18. Chips and Science Act. 2022. Public Law No. 117-167, 136 Stat. 1366. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4346/text.
  19. Corrigan, Jack, James Dunham, and Remco Zwetsloot. 2022. The Long-Term Stay Rates of International STEM PhD Graduates. Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology. https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/the-long-term-stay-rates-of-international-stem-phd-graduates/.
  20. Department of Health and Human Services. 2023. Commission Subcommittee Summaries, March 2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: The President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/whiaanhpi-march-2022-commission-report.pdf.
  21. Department of Labor. 2008. Fact Sheet #62G: Must an H-1B worker be paid a guaranteed wage? U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/62g-h1b-required-wage#:~:text=work%20is%20provided%3F-,Yes.,worker%20is%20unable%20to%20work.
  22. Department of Labor. 2009. Fact Sheet #62O: Must an H-1B employer recruit U.S. workers before seeking H-1B workers? U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/62o-h1b-recruitment.
  23. Department of State. 2024. Visa Bulletin For June 2024. United States Department of State. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2024/visa-bulletin-for-june-2024.html.
  24. Ellis Porter, High-Skilled Immigration. 2024. "Legal Fees." Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.highskilledimmigration.com/legal-fees.
  25. Even, William E., Takashi Yamashita, and Phyllis A. Cummins. 2023. "The STEM Wage Premium Across the OECD." New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development 35 (1): 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/19394225231171575.
  26. Falkenheim, Jaquelina and Lulu Kam. 2023. Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2022. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. NSF 24-300. https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/earned-doctorates/2022.
  27. Germany FOMR. 2023. "The EU Blue Card." Germany Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Accessed May 24. https://www.bamf.de/EN/Themen/MigrationAufenthalt/ZuwandererDrittstaaten/Migrathek/BlaueKarteEU/blauekarteeu-node.html.
  28. Government of Canada 2024. "H-1B visa holder work permit." Government of Canada: Immigration and citizenship. Last Modified April 11. Accessed May 24. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/h1b.html
  29. Immigration Act of 1990. 1990. US Public Law No. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2009/03/04/IMMACT1990.pdf.
  30. Maestas, Nicole, Kathleen J. Mullen, and David Powell. 2023. "The Effect of Population Aging on Economic Growth, the Labor Force, and Productivity." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 15 (2): 306-32. https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20190196.
  31. Maheshwari, Sapna, and Amanda Holpuch. 2024. "Why the U.S. Is Forcing TikTok to Be Sold or Banned." New York Times, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/article/tiktok-ban.html.
  32. Martin, J. A., B. E. Hamilton, M. J. Osterman, A. K. Driscoll, and T. J. Mathews. 2017. "Births: Final Data for 2015." Natl Vital Stat Rep 66 (1): 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28135188.
  33. Metz, Cade, and Tripp Mickle. 2024. "OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion." New York Times, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/technology/openai-artificial-intelligence-deal-valuation.html.
  34. NAFSA. 2023. The United States of America Benefits from International Students. NAFSA: Association of International Educators. https://www.nafsa.org/sites/default/files/media/document/EconValue-2023_final.pdf.
  35. Nam, Jane. 2023. “How Much Does a Ph.D. Cost?” Best Colleges. https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/cost-of-phd/.
  36. National Security Act. 2024. Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. US Public Law No. 118-50, 138 Stat. 895. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/815/text.
  37. Norton Rose Fulbright. 2017. "Canada launches new Global Skills Strategy." Norton Rose Fulbright. https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/15227e13/canada-launches-new-global-skills-strategy.
  38. Nowrasteh, Alex. 2023. "Only 45 Percent of Employment‐Based Green Cards Went to Workers in 2022." Cato Institute. May 24. https://www.cato.org/blog/only-45-percent-employment-based-green-cards-went-workers-2022.
  39. O*NET Data. 2018. "Browse STEM Occupations." O*NET Online. Accessed May 24. https://www.onetonline.org/find/stem?t=0.
  40. OECD. 2024. Gross domestic spending on R&D. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm.
  41. Olszewski, Thomas D., John E. Sabatini, Hannah L. Kirk, Gabriella G. Hazan, and Irina Liu. 2024. Characterizing the Loss of Talent From the U.S. STEM Ecosystem. The Science and Technology Policy Institute, Institute for Defense Analyses. https://www.ida.org/-/media/feature/publications/C/Ch/Characterizing-the-Loss-of-Talent-From-the-US-STEM-Ecosystem/Product-3001891.pdf.
  42. Osterman, M. J. K., B. E. Hamilton, J. A. Martin, A. K. Driscoll, and C. P. Valenzuela. 2024. "Births: Final Data for 2022." Natl Vital Stat Rep 73 (2): 1-56. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38625869.
  43. Peri, Giovanni, Kevin Shih, and Chad Sparber. 2015. "STEM Workers, H-1B Visas, and Productivity in US Cities." Journal of Labor Economics 33 (S1). https://doi.org/10.1086/679061.
  44. Prabhakar, Arati. 2024. Memorandum for the Heads of Federal Research Agencies. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OSTP-Foreign-Talent-Recruitment-Program-Guidelines.pdf.
  45. Shi, D., W. Liu, and Y. Wang. 2023. "Has China's Young Thousand Talents program been successful in recruiting and nurturing top-caliber scientists?" Science 379 (6627): 62-65. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq1218.
  46. SIA. 2023. Chipping Away: Assessing and Addressing the Labor Market Gap Facing the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association. (Semiconductor Industry Report). https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SIA_July2023_ChippingAway_website.pdf.
  47. Smith, B., E.-E. Alldredge, C.A. Arbeit, and M.I. Yamaner. 2024. Graduate Enrollment in Science, Engineering, and Health Continues to Increase among Foreign Nationals, while Postdoctoral Appointment Trends Vary across Fields. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2024. NSF 24-320. https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/graduate-students-postdoctorates-s-e/2022.
  48. UK Government. 2024. "High Potential Individual (HPI) visa." Government of the UK. https://www.gov.uk/high-potential-individual-visa
  49. US Code of Federal Regulations. Title 8, Section 214.1(l)(2). 2024. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/part-214/section-214.1#p-214.1(l)(2).
  50. US Code of Federal Regulations. Title 8, Section 214.2(f)(10)(ii). 2024. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/part-214/section-214.2#p-214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E).
  51. US Code. Title 8, Section 1101(a)(15)(F)(i). 2024. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1101&num=0&edition=prelim.
  52. US Code. Title 8, Section 1151(d)(1). 2024. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1151&num=0&edition=prelim.
  53. US Code. Title 8, Section 1184(g)(5)(C). 2024. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-1995-title8-section1184&f=treesort&num=0.
  54. US Congress, Senate. S.2384, Keep STEM Talent Act of 2023. 118th Congress, 1st session, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2384.
  55. US Congress. House. H.R.5477, Keep STEM Talent Act of 2023. 118th Congress, 1st session, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5477?s=1&r=54.
  56. Xue, Yi, and Richard C. Larson. 2015. STEM crisis or STEM surplus? Yes and yes. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2015/article/stem-crisis-or-stem-surplus-yes-and-yes.htm.
  57. Zhu, Julie, Fanny Potkin, Eduardo Baptista, and Michael Martina. 2023. "Insight: China quietly recruits overseas chip talent as US tightens curbs." Reuters. Accessed May 24. https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-quietly-recruits-overseas-chip-talent-us-tightens-curbs-2023-08-24/.
DISCLAIMER: The findings and conclusions published herein are solely attributed to the author and not necessarily endorsed or adopted by the Journal of Science Policy and Governance. Articles are distributed in compliance with copyright and trademark agreements.

ISSN 2372-2193
© 2022 Journal of Science Policy & Governance, Inc. All rights reserved. The opinions, findings and conclusions from JSPG publications, additional article commentaries and related events do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal.