Ways to Retain High Skilled Immigrants

According to the reports of Manpower Inc, United States lacks talented individuals and around 50% of the US employers are unable to hire skilled workers and are facing problems while filling the vacant positions. Due to such reasons, Microsoft and several other US companies are requesting the US Congress to allocate more visas for high-skilled foreign workers. They say that such foreign workers will help the United States to remain competitive. Moreover, many STEM graduates who obtain their degrees in America are found to move to other countries.

In order to retain the high-skilled foreign workers, the country must reform the immigration laws and implement few new policies. United States allows foreign nationals who hold H-1B visas, to work in America temporarily. This is the only option for STEM graduates and with these visas, foreign nationals can live and work in America for a certain period of time. Currently, the country grants only 65,000 H-1B visas per year and that is not sufficient. The STEM Jobs Act that was recently introduced, will grant 50,000 immigrant visas to STEM graduates and will put an end to the Green Card lottery program. Immigration activists say that new visas must be added and abolishing an existing program will not help the country to overcome the skilled labor shortage.

Similarly, the country must grant lawful status to foreign students who obtain their degrees in America. United States must not send back the innovators who were trained in the country and must grant Green Cards to the STEM graduates and other foreign students who earn other masters degrees in America. Currently, the United States also lacks doctors and nurses and the country will need 90,000 doctors, by the end of the year 2020. Hence, new policies that would grant lawful status to healthcare professionals must be implemented.

Similarly, United States must implement new laws like the Startup Visa Act of 2012. As there are no specific visas for foreign entrepreneurs, such laws will help the foreign-born entrepreneurs to start up businesses in America and obtain lawful status in the country.