Fiancee Visa

In his recent State of the Union Address, President Obama called for less-than comprehensive immigration reform, citing the need for more talent in high tech and scientific fields and industries.  Mr. Obama referred to the “brain drain” by which U.S. colleges and universities train foreign students, who return home to other countries, taking their intellect and talents with them.  In short, America trains its competitors, Mr. Obama explained.

A recent report from the Brookings Institution released by its Vice President, Darrell M. West on Jan. 19, 2011, seems to support Mr. Obama’s observations and conclusions.  In the report, Mr. West states that U.S. immigration policies are in need of reforms that will allow employers greater access to workers with scientific and technological skills, which is required to empower the U.S. to compete in the global marketplace.  Mr. West’s report notes that immigrant workers have greatly contributed to the U.S. economy, particularly technical and scientific segments of the economy.  In support of that observation, the report notes that:

• More than a 25% of technology and engineering businesses launched between 1995 and 2005 were founded by a foreign-born leader.
• More than 50% of high-tech start-up companies in Silicon Valley were founded by foreign-born owners.
• About 25% of all international patents filed from the U.S. in 2006 were based on the work of foreign-born workers.
• 33% of all U.S. winners of Nobel prizes in medicine and physiology were born outside of the U.S.

The report cautions that U.S. has fallen behind in international competition.  Starting in 2009, U.S. inventors now earn fewer patents than their global counterparts.  With these cautionary signs in mind, the report makes several suggestions for immigration law reform, including these:

• Expansion of the H-1B visa program (for highly skilled workers), the O-1 visa program (the so-called “genius” program for extraordinary talent) and the EB-5 visa program for “targeted employment areas”)
• Linking visa and immigration limits to the employment and other economic needs of the U.S., as opposed to partisan politics.
• Creation of an automatic green card for foreign-born graduates of U.S. math, science, technology and engineering programs.

The report is a non-partisan look at an area of immigration policy that could be the basis of limited reform by Congress, because the report is focused on ways to improve U.S. competitiveness in global markets.  Not surprisingly, the report was released at the very moment when Congress is debating the future economic model and policy needs of the U.S. in relation to a flatter, more competitive global marketplace.