Hillary Clinton, oft criticized for being too cautious and timid with her policy proposals, dropped a very bold one just now:
Hillary would “staple” a green card to STEM masters and PhDs from accredited institutions
Unlike everything else on Clinton’s wonklist, this proposal is simple and bold, with immediate and far-reaching impact. I haven’t formed a definitive opinion about this proposal yet- I would like to use this diary to study it in depth to see if we could arrive at an informed opinion on it.
Currently our skill-based immigration largely consists of the H1B program. In the last 3 years, 200,000+ applications pour in for the 65,000 annual H1B slots that open up the first week of April. A lottery system is used to determine who gets an H1B visa. A further 20,000 slots are set aside for US graduates with advanced degrees- these 20,000 slots are snapped up within that first week of April as well. Back during the recession time, there were fewer applications, but these annual H1B quotas are always used up before the year was out.
In the past corporations like Intel and Microsoft were the top users of H1B’s. Companies that provided good, solid careers while pushing the leading edge of technology. Here in the Silicon Valley you’ll find scores of immigrants who came in as H1B holders, put down roots and became productive citizens. Today, however, the landscape is totally different. Outsourcing companies like Tata, Infosys, Wipro, etc, snap up over half of the slots. They use a shotgun quantity-over-quality approach to get as many visas as they can. Only 3% of these employees go on to apply for green cards.
The other issue is immigration. Contrary to popular belief, H1B is technically a non-immigration visa. In order for an H1B holder to get a green card, he/she must go through another process called the adjustment of status. This process could take up to 12 years for Indian nationals, and 7 years for chinese nationals.
A hidden problem with the H1B visa, is that H1B holders frequently bring over a spouse on an H4 visa, which doesn’t allow them to work. Every year there are over 90,000 H4 visas granted- this represents a significant waste of talent, as these relatively young women sit home and do nothing. If skilled immigrants are granted green cards right off the bat- their spouses will not have to be restricted from working.
As you can see- the H1B program is highly problematic, and arguably abused and gamed by the outsourcers. Now moving onto Clinton’s proposal. In 2012-2013 the following numbers of STEM advanced degrees were granted:
|
Total |
Foreign students |
Master |
95,399 |
35,947
|
PhD |
26,573 |
11,579 |
Since 20,000 advanced degree holders already get H1B’s every year, you could say that the net effect of Clinton’s proposal would be an additional 25,000 foreign advanced degree holders staying in the US every year.
However, policies are not enacted in a vacuum. Right now F1 student visas are unlimited. We could see a surge of international students going for STEM degrees. On that score though, we could look to Canada for guidance. It turns out BC province already has such a program whereby advanced STEM degree holders could get permanent residence. Quebec province has a much more generous program for all college graduates, with the added caveat that the applicant needs to know French. At first glance it seems like this policy has served Canada well. The Gastown area of Vancouver is touted to become ‘Silicon Valley north’, and salaries have caught up to US standard. It does seem like Canada has a soft quota of around 23,000 for this type of immigration though. So there is that.
From an age-demographic standpoint, it is undoubtedly a good thing to bring in young immigrants with their entire working lives ahead of them. Likewise it is a good thing to bring in educated immigrants- and we’ve been trending in the right direction on that.
In conclusion, this is a momentous change, but there are the key questions that the Clinton camp needs to answer:
Will there be a flood of foreign students coming to the US for a Master degree in order to earn a green card?
Do we need a limit on F1 visas? Or at least F1 visas for STEM students?
Since this process grants green cards to graduates- that puts them well ahead of the H1B holders, who have to wait over a dozen years to get their green cards while tethered to their employers at every turn. If this fair?
Will this process replace the H1B program which has been hogged by the outsourcers?
Will anything be done to prevent foreign students from crowding out american students in STEM graduate programs?