The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS), a congressionally-chartered research organization, recently released a report that recommends the dramatic expansion of immigration programs for international students and professionals in so-called STEM fields. The policy recommendations were included in a new report on the recruitment and retention of international talent. The report, entitled International Talent Programs in the Changing Global Environment (2024), describes the efforts governments across the world use to attract science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers, and provides recommendations for policymakers to improve U.S. efforts.
Among the myriad of recommendations from NAS’ lengthy, 300-page report, are broad recommendations to attract and retain as much foreign STEM talent as possible in the United States. These recommendations call for changes to immigration policy that undermine American workers.
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Recommendation 7 urges Congress to authorize an unlimited number of green cards for foreign-born STEM “talent” in priority fields.
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Recommendation 7 also calls on Congress to make foreign-born students graduating from a U.S. institution in STEM fields automatically eligible for green cards.
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Recommendation 8 encourages the Department of Labor to establish new rules that authorize the approval of green cards for certain STEM workers without an analysis of the U.S. labor market. Essentially, the NAS proposes that the Department of Labor declare that there are labor shortages in certain STEM specialties, allowing employers to bypass the certification process with the government.
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Recommendation 11 then explicitly calls on higher education associations, scientific societies, and industry groups to lobby lawmakers on the “importance of foreign talent.” READ MORE