The real problem is we make it too hard for international researchers to stay here. These high end student visas should have strong paths to permanent residence - maybe even an expectation
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This was a relatively widespread opinion 20 years ago. I had Roy Blunt, Republican senator from Missouri at the time, come to talk to us, telling us that he thought a science Ph.D should come with a green card stapled to it. But the politics of immigration never let small bills through, as people wanted bigger ones, and the bigger ones always had things that would risk filibusters.
And we all know that the current US senate isn't anywhere near passing any reform, as nothing can hit 60, and if anything did, it would be immigration restrictions.
There was a time that the road was kind of easy: During the Clinton and early GW Bush years, the H1 limits were very high, so if you could find a job, you at least got on that train. It was a long wait if you didn't have a Ph.D, but it was extremely reliable. Not so much anymore.
> he thought a science Ph.D should come with a green card stapled to it
This will be goodhearted to hell in this day and age.
It's sad that our government can't pass a bill without it being a katamari ball.
One thing, discuss, vote.
No "hey if we give you this, you give us this." just simple "do most of us agree on this?" level politics.
That's real democracy, not the crap we have today.
Well the popular argument is that it takes so long to pass any kind of bill that smaller bills would just mean more bills and a bigger backlog. I don't really buy that.
The real reason is that it's easy to sneak stuff into a bill, so why not? That and trying to attack political opponents by joining something politically disastrous to <their side> to an otherwise uncontroversial bill.
Yes; it wouldn't take so long if bills were simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Instead they're rubberband balls of horse traded, full of items that as you said someone has tried to 'sneak' in.
I wish our parties didn't view each other as opponents as much as collaboration partners ultimately responsible for the continued well being of the nation rather than only for their own political good.
The nature of a congress is that every bill gets balanced with the interests of a majority of the people there.
Maybe. But the fact is also that the US have become a less attractive country to live and raise your children in.
You have to be careful. These student-to-resident visa programs end up being used by "students" who really just want a visa. And then the "educators" turn into toll collectors who are accepting "tuition" in exchange for visa access.
See for example "Graduate work visas: a disaster we were warned about" here: https://www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/the-deliveroo-visa-scandal
student-to-resident and working-while-student are two completely different types of visas.
Not sure this distinction matters in practice. Either way you're creating an economic incentive to go through the motions of "studying" at a university.
This is the case. A friend, born outside of the US, who is a researcher at Harvard is now looking at options outside of the US due to their visa being about to expire and it not looking like it will get extended.
They are looking at alternatives in Europe instead.
Isn't that the entire incentive structure for international PhD graduates already (at least on the private industry front)?