Why Skilled Immigrants Are Leaving the U.S.

One of the reasons for success of the US economy as the world’s engine of innovation and growth has been its ability to attract talents from abroad. But thanks to contentious changes in the US immigration policy, especially a temporary worker visa program known as H-1B, it is no longer the land of opportunity. There are indications that immigrants, unsuccessful at obtaining the right to stay and lured by better prospects at home, are returning to their native countries in greater numbers. This will have a devastating impact on the future growth of the US. Immigrants are needed to help recover from the recession meltdown. Although constituting only 12 percent of the US population, immigrants have started 52 percent of the Silicon Valley companies. They have co-founded companies like Yahoo!, eBay, Google and Intel. Without innovation, the US will remain stagnant. Unfortunately, the policy focus is to keep existing American jobs, not realizing that it will come at a cost of building a workforce for the future of America. – YaleGlobal