Visa Delays Hurting Inbound Foreign Talent Flow

America is a nation of immigrants. That is particularly true of its scientific community which has, since the second world war, attracted and relied on foreign talent to help create the world's most formidable research machine. Since the country's economic and military might depend in large measure on the success of that machine, anything which diminishes this flow of talent is likely to be bad for America. And a study released on May 4th by the National Science Foundation (NSF) suggests that delays in the processing of visas since September 11th 2001 are having just that effect.

According to the report, in 2001 the number of visas issued to foreign students fell by 20% from the previous year, with further falls since then. The State Department does not track science students separately from those in other disciplines, so it is impossible to work out the precise size of the decline in their numbers. However, the report concludes that “limits to entry imposed by US national security restrictions” are contributing to a declining inflow of science talent.

Sound familiar? We are running into these complaints in several places where we work.

More here.