Hello, 911 - I've Just Shot Myself In The Brain

So, I was in a zone with Adele, draining my brain of all but the purity of the instrument of her voice, which has been cleverly disguised as a human being. Used to be that "brain drain" referred to the exodus of the best and brightest from (fill in name of country here) to work and make fortunes in the US.

The situation has been somewhat reversed these days. Students from around the globe come to our universally recognized world-class universities to study, often in the prized STEM (science, technlogy, engineering, mathematics) specialties. Then, they go home to apply what they've learned against us in global economic competition.

Some research suggests that they'd go home at some point, anyway. But, other reports cite a definite desire to stay here and work. My admittedly limited and anecdotal experience, especially in working with students in a world-leading MBLE (Master in Business Logistics Engineering) program overwhelmingly supports the idea that these international students want to stay in the US, nearly desperately.

Make no mistake, these students make up the current generation of the best and brightest, and they could add amazing intellectual candlepower to the beacon of our light on the world. Would they be displacing American workers? All mindless nativist rhetoric aside, not a chance. These classes are made up of - overwhelmingly - young scholars from other lands, often comprising 100% of a given class. Native-born participants are such a tiny minority that they amount to a curiosity.

We might speculate endlessly about why this is, but the ultimate reality is that the talent we ought to prize, and fight to keep, is the latest version of the stream of immigrants that have been powering our ascendance for our entire history as a nation. And, we are pushing them away, diluting our talent pool and strengthening our international competitors.

There appear to be two villains in the story, one frightened and cautious, and the other watchfully paranoid. This is not my area of expertise, so I am speculating a bit, but the appearance is this. On paper, a progression from student visa status, through the optional OPT program, into H1B temporary working visa status, and then to a full-fledged green card (resident) classification is straightforward.

But, post-9/11 and thanks to some fraud and other chicanery, our government has made it more difficult to go beyond the student visa status. Not impossible, but difficult and with quotas. Imagine! Quotas when the skills involved are 1) critical to the economic future of the nation, and 2) in short supply.

Employers - or prospective employers - play a role in this mystery. H1B and green card status both require employer sponsorship. And, getting an employer commitment has been, for the brilliant student that I've been working with, very difficuly. Not impossible, but a discouraging prospect for a significant number.

Why employers don't/won't make the commitment may be debated. Are they reluctant to roll the dice on a (possibly) short-term employee? Is it a matter of investment versus payback? Do governmental constraints discourage them from even trying? I don't honestly know. But, it is painful to hear about shortages of high-tech skills at the same time that we are driving high-tech talent away.

Seems to me that we need a concentrated national effort to encourage and stimulate easier visa acquisition for highly desirable individuals. That means less red tape and higher (or no) quotas. It might also mean incentives for employers who invest in sponsorship.

Bt somehow we need to find a way to keep a much greater number of these fine minds we are educating here in this country, and use those resources in our national interest. The current course of (in)action is fostering a brain drain that we will pay dearly for in the future if it is not reversed.