To Compete With China on Tech, America Needs to Fix Its Immigration System
Foreign Affairs
23-05-16 04:00
The US has a chip talent shortage, and this is attributable to the complex US immigration system. According to Google’s former CEO, Washington needs to remove needless complexities to make its immigration system more transparent and create new pathways for the best minds to come to the US. While the US’ dysfunctional system is putting off talented experts, other countries are attracting them. For example, China is particularly pro-active with President Xi Jinping declaring that “the competition of today’s world is a competition of human talent and education." The nation has begun spending money to woo back native-born STEM graduates, and Chinese engineers and scientists who moved abroad to work are being offered powerful incentives to return home. By comparison, the UK's High Potential Individual visa program is specifically aimed at graduates of some of the world’s best universities. However, immigration reform in the US has been blocked for years, despite bipartisan support for common-sense reform.
To confront the great geopolitical challenges facing the US in the coming years, the US government should make a concerted effort to identify and recruit top researchers from around the world. Attracting exceptional scientists will allow the US to maintain its technological edge. The US government has a successful history of using such a strategy, and during WWII succeeded in attracting exceptional talent, including such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Today, Washington needs to do more to attract leading scientists and entrepreneurs, including those from non-aligned or even hostile states.