The Hindu Business Line : Stringent US visa norms, security may block foreign talent: Report

Post 9/11, there has been a steep decline in non-immigrant US visa issuance between 2001 and 2003, and this has had a strong impact on Indian and Chinese nationals.

Chennai , Sept. 9

THE long-standing structural flaws in the US visa policy systems and the unintended consequences of security procedures instituted since September 11, 2001 may cause an increasing number of scientists and engineers - especially from India and China - to forgo coming to the US, according to a report by Immigration Law Centre, a division of American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF).

This will in turn deprive the US of a critical supply of human talent, the report says. The AILF is dedicated to increase public understanding of immigration law and policy and the value of immigration to American society.

Foreign-born scientists and engineers have played a vital role in the US technological and scientific advancements and are a critical part of the science and engineering labour force.

For instance, in 2000, foreign-born scientists and engineers comprised 11.1 per cent of the US population, but accounted for 16.6 per cent of all scientists and engineers in the US.

Although foreign-born scientists and engineers in the US come from various countries, about 33.1 per cent are from India or China. India is by far the leading source of computer scientists (accounting for 24.1 per cent of all foreign-born computer scientist), while China is a leading source of foreign-born life scientists (29 per cent) and foreign-born physical scientists (25.2 per cent), the report that is available on the Net said.

Post 9/11, there has been a steep decline in non-immigrant US visa issuance between 2001 and 2003, and this has had a strong impact on Indian and Chinese nationals. China significantly outpaces the overall drop in every visa category except B1 (visitors for business for periods up to 90 days).

To a lesser extent, India also has experienced relatively high decline in visa issuances. In addition, persons from India and China are reported to be experiencing a marked increase in the number of security checks based on their potential access to sensitive technology in the US. Political conditions in India and China do indeed necessitate careful security screening of visa applicants who are national of these two countries, says the report titled "Maintaining a Competitive Edge: The Role of Foreign-Born and US Immigration Policies in Science and Engineering."

Post 9/11, the change in non-immigrant visas issued between the fiscal 2001 and 2003 was - 33.7 per cent for all countries in the H-1B visa (temporary professional workers employed in a specific occupation) category. India witnessed a change of - 43 per cent and it was - 38.2 per cent for China.

Similarly, in the B-1 category, the change for all countries was - 27.7 per cent, India's - 22.3 per cent and China's - 20.9 per cent.

In the F1 visa category (full-time academic students in US colleges), the change for all countries was - 26.5 per cent, while India's was - 20.6 per cent and China's - 35.9 per cent, the report said. In addition to being the most educated members of the scientists and engineers labour force, the foreign-born scientists and engineers are also a critical component of the US workforces in particular industries. Overall, the industries that relied most on foreign-born scientists and engineers in 2000 were the educational and health category (where the foreign-born comprised 18.8 per cent of all scientists and engineers) and the professional and scientific category (where the foreign-born constituted 18.4 per cent of all scientists and engineers).

Further, foreign-born accounted for 42.2 per cent of all physical scientists and health and services and 26.2 per cent in manufacturing.

As these data illustrate, US visa and immigration policies that affect foreign-born scientists and engineers also affect the productivity and competitiveness of US industries in which they most commonly work, the report said.