With about 214 million immigrants worldwide, 42 million of whom

Unlimited Talent: The Benefits of High-Skilled Immigrants By Nicolas Tang Technological companies are increasingly in need of talent and skills often lacking within the native workforce. If the demand for such workers cannot be met, the United States economic competitiveness will continue to diminish. This research focuses on high-skilled immigrants, a sub-group of immigrants characterized by entrepreneurship, innovation, and intellect. Though they are ideal candidates for the many unfilled positions in technological sectors, unreasonable policies both deter and prevent these individuals from contributing to the country. An analysis of other surveys, studies, and research reveals that certain visas can take applicants decades to obtain. Furthermore, the cause for most of the opposition towards high-skilled immigrants seems to be fueled by nativism and lack of education. Luckily, if policymakers can begin to scrutinize the issue of high-skilled immigrants in a more objective manner, solutions can be easily achieved. The examined data suggests that simply eliminating visa caps can remove many of the decade-long backlogs in a few years. In other words, this would finally ease the process of attracting and retaining the exceptional talent that will keep moving this country forward. With about 214 million immigrants worldwide, 42 million of whom are located in the United States alone (UN DESA, 2008), immigration is likely going to remain one of the most controversial and significant issues of this nation. It is estimated that immigrants represent about 12%-13% of the total U.S. population. However, due to the difficulty and lack of tools to accurately assess the amount of undocumented individuals, it is probable that immigrants actually represent an even larger percentage of the population. The polarizing nature of this issue has created countless heated debates in an effort to determine the best policies and regulations. Some firmly believe that immigrants pose serious threats to the economy which can only be countered through more restrictive regulations, while others contend that immigrants are indispensable assets that must be encouraged to reside in the country permanently. The purpose of this research is to provide compelling evidence that gives policymakers a clear path to better decisions. Though the topic of immigration is highly complex, an analysis of current data and research reveals that certain aspects of this issue are easier to address. This paper identifies three distinct categories of immigrants. The first category will be referred to as low-skilled immigrants. These include all immigrants that do not possess a college degree and are commonly associated with low-skilled jobs (positions that require minimal qualifications). In the second category and the main focus of this research are There is a wealth of evidence that overwhelmingly suggests that high-skilled immigrants provide a net benefit to this country and its economy. In other words, the United States gains more from the contributions of these immigrants than what may be lost through their disadvantages. high-skilled immigrants. These are all those who possess a college degree or higher, and are known as professionals. Lastly, illegal/undocumented immigrants represent all those who are present in the United States without legal consent of the government regardless of their skills. When possible, this research approaches each group separately. However, the intricate topic of immigration sometimes requires the blending of these groups to address certain issues. Yet by identifying different types of immigrants and focusing on the highly skilled, the issue of immigration can be immensely simplified. The primary hypothesis of this research predicts that there is a wealth of evidence that overwhelmingly suggests that highskilled immigrants provide a net benefit to this country and its economy. In other words, the United States gains more from the contributions of these immigrants than what may be lost through their disadvantages. If the previous statement can be shown to be true, perhaps lawmakers can be led to focus on policy rather than ideological issues affecting high-skilled immigrants. It is also important to note that though this research chooses to focus on high-skilled immigrants, it does not implicitly suggest the inferiority of other groups. In fact, the data presented will often and inevitably also defend low-skilled immigrants. Section 1 of this research will present the major problems surrounding the issue of high-skilled immigrants in the United States. These include an inability to satisfy a growing demand for these individuals and an inefficient 33

Unlimited Talent: The Benefits of High-Skilled Immigrants Nicolas Tang system for granting visas. Section 2 will demonstrate how and why highskilled immigrants are indispensable. The third part of this research examines some of the causes for the various problems affecting high-skilled immigrants. Finally, the research will conclude with a section offering solutions to strengthen the system of regulations used to deal with highskilled immigrants. THE VISA PROBLEM Understanding the problems surrounding high-skilled immigrants requires knowledge of the system of rules, laws, and regulations that govern this group in the United States. High-skilled immigrants usually enter this country with student visas (F or M visas are documents that allow immigrants to study in the U.S.) or with an H-1B visa (document that allows immigrants to work in the U.S.), but can sometimes also be granted access with a permanent resident card (also known as a green card). A green card allows immigrants to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely, but unfortunately takes years and a very complicated process to obtain. While H-1B and student visas are easier to acquire, the holder can only stay in the U.S. for a limited amount of time. It must also be noted that waiting for these visas can also take years. Student visas will be addressed first. Foreigners often come to this country as students and it is here that they gain the education that transforms them into high-skilled immigrants. In fact, few successful immigrant entrepreneurs said they came here ready to start a business (Anderson & Platzer, 2006). Essentially, it is the United States that spends money and resources to educate these immigrants, but student visas only allow them to stay until their studies are complete. Once they have acquired remarkable abilities, the U.S. sends these new high-skilled immigrants outside of the country. The only way for them to return and contribute to the country where they gained their skills is by waiting years to obtain either a work visa or a green card. It is not a surprise then that enrollment rates for international students are declining (Anderson & Miller, 2006; Anderson & Platzer, 2006). H-1B visas are mainly used by companies to hire immigrants with at least a college degree for a period of up to six years. The lack of workforce in high-skilled sectors can easily be solved by allowing more H-1Bs in the country. These tend to be more efficient and more talented than their American counterparts (Anderson & Platzer, 2006; Fairlie, 2008; Hunt, 2010). Companies that need to stay competitive require H-1Bs to provide them with the most current skills and knowledge often lacking in the native workforce and especially in technological sectors (Masters & Ruthizer, 2000; NFAP, 2007; Ruiz, Wilson, & Choudhury, 2012). Unfortunately, the H-1B visa system is extremely flawed. Reports show that this previously unrestricted visa was limited to a maximum of 65,000 per year in 1990 (Masters & Ruthizer, 2000; NFAP, 2010). Since then, the cap had been briefly raised between 1999 and 2003, before it was once again lowered to the original limit. However, lawmakers did take a step in a positive direction when in 2005 they added 20,000 visa exceptions for immigrants who had graduated from a U.S. university with a master s degree or higher. Table 1 shows the amount of H-1B visas issued since 1992 against their yearly caps (excluding the 20,000 exemptions). Table 1: H-1B Visas Issued Against the Cap by Year YEAR CAP # ISSUED # UNUSED 1992 65,000 48,600 16,400 1993 65,000 61,600 3,400 1994 65,000 60,300 4,700 1995 65,000 54,200 10,800 1996 65,000 55,100 9,900 1997 65,000 65,000 0 1998 65,000 65,000 0 1999 115,000 115,000 0 2000 115,000 115,000 0 2001 195,000 163,600 31,400 2002 195,000 79,100 115,900 2003 195,000 78,800 117,000 2004 65,000 65,000 0 2005 65,000 65,000 0 2006 65,000 65,000 0 2007 65,000 65,000 0 2008 65,000 65,000 0 2009 65,000 65,000 0 2010 65,000 65,000 0 2011 65,000 65,000 0 2012 65,000 65,000 0 Source: NFAP, 2010 Once they have acquired remarkable abilities, the U.S. sends these new high-skilled immigrants outside of the country. The only way for them to return and contribute to the country where they gained their skills is by waiting years to obtain either a work visa or a green card. These numbers indicate that for almost a decade now, the annual limits have been reached. Moreover, during a one-week filing period that was available in 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received 163,000 H-1B applications. The cap, of course, was at 65,000 and even the additional 20,000 exceptions were not enough to cover all the applications. As of June 11, 2012, the 85,000 cap for FY 2013 has already been reached. The lack of H-1Bs is a constant struggle for businesses that need to fill employment gaps with flexible labor. A survey reveals that two thirds of their immigrant entrepreneur respondents believe that U.S. immigration policies make it more difficult to start a business (Anderson & Platzer, 2006). Yet despite the data, many still contend that high-skilled immigrants affect native workers negatively (Matloff, 2011; Eisenbrey, 2013). These individuals believe that companies abuse the H-1B system to hire cheap labor and save money. Anti-immigrant groups are often concerned with immigrants taking jobs away from natives. One author explains that many U.S. citizens cannot find employment as immigrants are always willing to work for less (Beck, 1996). Though this argument is often employed to attack undocumented immigrants, some critics have used the same arguments for high-skilled immigrants. Norman Matloff (2011), a known critic of high skilled immigrants, believes that the H-1B work visa is fundamentally about cheap, de facto indentured labor (p. 1). The idea is that foreign workers right to remain and work in the U.S. depends on their employers; companies are then able to pay wages that are too low for natives. Though 34

The Hinckley Journal of Politics 2013 there is some truth to that statement, the situation is a lot more complex and the evidence implies that the problems are more likely caused by bad policies rather than by immigrants. First of all, the idea that companies abuse the H-1B system to pay high-skilled immigrants less in wages is wide of the mark. The law requires companies to pay H-1B workers similar wages as to all others in the same positions. A 2007 National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) study reports that though some businesses do try to abuse the system, there have only been 7-15 willful violations since 1992. The study argues that it is unlikely for companies such Microsoft or IBM (which generate billions of dollars per year) to risk having legal issues by underpaying H-1Bs to save a minuscule amount of money. It goes on to state, To systematically underpay H-1B visa holders would require, in effect, keeping a separate set of books, one with the pay scales for Americans and the other for foreign nationals in similar jobs within the same company (p. 7). Furthermore, the fact that almost all companies that hire H-1Bs have native workers representing 85%-99% of their workforces challenges the argument that high-skilled immigrants are being used as cheap replacements for U.S. workers. Companies that wish to hire H-1Bs actually have to pay about $2,500 in legal fees, a $1,500 training fee, a $1,000 premium processing fee (not required, but used to save time), a $500 antifraud fee, and a $100 visa fee. Despite these costs, companies still compete for high-skilled immigrants. The obvious reason for this demand is talent; however, it is true that high-skilled immigrants help companies lower their costs (just not through wages). In 2009 the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies published a study by Renee Reichl Luthra, an immigration expert and researcher, seeking to determine the exact effects of H-1B high-skilled immigrants on natives. Specifically, Luthra (2009) focused on the notions of cheap labor and exploitative practices associated with H-1Bs. The first part of the research explored the idea of Labor Market Segmentation. This concept assumes the existence of two types of jobs in labor markets. Primary positions are those which companies invest more capital and training in and are also associated with more job security, higher pay, and better benefits. Secondary jobs are those which are less desirable, offer less pay, and less advancement. Nonetheless, employers consistently need secondary positions filled regardless of the state of the market. Having a shortage of native workers willing to work in such positions creates great demand for immigrants who are undeterred by the disadvantages. The researcher contends that this idea applies in high-skilled sectors as well. Consider, for example, a technology firm. This company would have core positions in which they invest significant amounts of capital and training. These positions are very appealing and offer excellent benefits, attracting more committed workers which provide more security to the company (fewer turnovers). However, because the technological market changes very quickly, the firm would also develop peripheral positions which are constantly being filled by workers with the most current skills. The transient nature of these positions justifies paying these workers less in terms of benefits. In other words, the firm has created an internal dual market. High-skilled immigrants with H-1B visas are an ideal match for these peripheral positions. Employers need temporary workers and H-1Bs can only work for a limited amount of time. Additionally, they possess the best skills in the market and do not mind receiving fewer benefits. The argument that high-skilled immigrants are cheap labor, then, is true to the extent that companies save through benefits and by not having to train or invest much in these skilled workers. If anti-immigrant associations wished to change this situation, they would have to focus on the rules of the H-1B visa instead of simply blaming immigrants. The second Over the past 15 years, high-skilled immigrants had started 25% of all U.S. public companies...the market capitalization of these exceeded $500 billion at that time. part of Luthra s (2009) analysis shows that recently arrived H-1Bs are more likely to be in peripheral jobs. The chances of being in such positions disappear with H-1Bs who became permanent residents. Effectively, it is only visa constraints that force high-skilled immigrants to accept contingent jobs with fewer benefits. As Luthra (2009) explains, The combined results of these analyses point toward visa reform. A greater likelihood of contingent work is tied solely to the most-recently arrived immigrants likely to be temporary visa holders (p. 247). The final purpose of visa reform should not only be to ease the process of allowing high-skilled immigrants to enter the country, but it should also help the United States permanently retain their exceptional talents. To do so, the dire green card situation must be drastically improved. Anderson (2011) accurately describes the problem by stating, Today the most distinguishing characteristic of innovative and adaptive immigrants is an ability to wait a long time (p. 1). Employment-based green cards are divided into five different categories. The categories starting with the lower preference are EB-5 (issued to creators of employment or investors), EB-4 (special workers), EB-3 (professional and skilled workers), EB-2 (possess advanced degrees or exceptional abilities), and lastly EB-1 (for outstanding professors, researchers or other immigrants with extraordinary ability). The annual quota, which was set in 1990, is a maximum of 140,000 visas. Since then, the gross domestic product of the U.S. has nearly tripled and yet the quotas have remained unchanged. Each country is also limited to a certain amount of visas each year. This means that countries with large populations are severely affected. Because of the massive backlogs that already exist for certain countries, it is estimated that new Indian applicants can wait up to 70 years and new Chinese applicants will have to wait about 20 years in the EB-3 category. In the EB-2 category, wait times for these two countries approximate six to eight years (Anderson, 2011). Such excessive waiting periods are clearly disproportionately affecting countries with larger populations and simply depriving the U.S. of talent. High-skilled immigrants are more educated, possess superior skills, and hold better positions than any other group of immigrants. They frequently come to the United States as students seeking to complete their tertiary education, or as skilled workers looking for quality jobs that cannot be found in their native countries. Opponents of immigration, however, view these foreigners as threats. They often argue that high-skilled immigrants willingness to work for less in harder conditions creates unfair competition for U.S. workers of similar skill (Matloff, 2011; Eisenbrey, 2013; Beck, 1996). There is much evidence that suggests otherwise. ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INNOVATION, AND JOB CREATION A 2006 study for the NFAP found that high-skilled immigrants had astonishing entrepreneurial talents (Anderson & Platzer, 2006). The unique study examined the birthplace of founders of all U.S. venture-backed publicly traded companies. Additionally, it also surveyed more than 340 privately owned venture-backed companies. The research showed that over the past 15 years, high-skilled immigrants had started 25% of all U.S. public companies. It is important to note that many of these companies may have been started with native partners or associates. The market capitalization of these exceeded $500 billion at that time. Considering that all legal immigrants (not just the highly-skilled) represented only 8.7% of the total U.S. population that year, the proportion of successful immigrants is remarkable. Furthermore, the analysis showed that 40% of all public companies started by immigrants either alone or with native partners were in high-technology 35

Unlimited Talent: The Benefits of High-Skilled Immigrants Nicolas Tang manufacturing sectors. Among some of the better known immigrant-founded companies are Sun Microsystems, ebay, and Google. Immigrant-founded venture-backed public companies were estimated to employ about 220,000 people in the U.S. Table 2 lists the most successful immigrant-founded public companies and the amount of people they employed in 2005. such as computer sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering at higher rates than natives. Table 3 shows a comparison between the percentage of high-skilled natives and immigrants (from a random pool of participants in a 2003 national survey) with bachelor s degrees or higher and other additional details. Table 2: Immigrant-Founded Companies COMPANY Source: Anderson & Platzer, 2006 IMMIGRANT-BORN FOUNDER OR CO-FOUNDER COUNTRY OF BIRTH EMPLOYEES (FY 2005) INDUSTRY Solectron Corporation Winston Chen Taiwan 53,000 Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Sanmina-SCI Corporation Jure Sola Bosnia 48,621 Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Milan Mandaric Croatia Sun Microsystems, Inc. Andreas Bechtolsheim Germany 31,000 Electronic Computer Manufacturing Vinod Khosla India ebay Inc. Pierre Omidyar France 12,600 Electronic Auctions Yahoo! Inc. Jerry Yang Taiwan 9,800 Web Search Portals Life Time Fitness, Inc. Henri Hodara France 7,200 Engineering Services UTStarcom, Inc. Ying Wu China 6,300 Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing Google, Inc. Sergey Brin Russia 5,680 Web Search Portals Kanbay International, Inc. Raymond J. Spencer Austrailia 5,242 Computer Systems Design Services Dileep Nath India Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli Italy 5,000 Software Publishers Juniper Networks, Inc. Pradeep Sindhu India 4,145 Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Allen Chao Taiwan 3,844 Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing Parametric Technology Corp. Samuel Geisberg Russia 3,751 Software Publishers Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. Roger Medel Cuba 3,013 Offices of Physicians (Except Mental Health Specialists) NVIDIA Corp. Jen-Hsun Huang Taiwan 2,737 Semiconductor/ Related Device Manufacturing Salton, Inc. Lewis Salton Poland 2,466 Electric Housewares/Household Fan Manufacturing Lam Research Corp. David Lam China 2,200 Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing Research that uses government databases to analyze general business ownership in the U.S. also concurs with the idea that immigrants are exceptionally talented at starting new businesses (Fairlie, 2008). The study conducted by Dr. Robert W. Fairlie for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) concluded that immigrants are almost 30% more likely to start a business than natives. In the state of California (with one of the highest concentration of immigrants), 30% of all business owners were immigrants. A 2000 U.S. census estimated that these businesses generated $20 billion in business income. This translates to nearly one fourth of California s total business income. More importantly however, immigrants that had obtained a college degree represented the largest educational group (31.3%) of all immigrant business owners. Once again, this suggests the importance of separating low-skilled from high-skilled immigrants and the beneficial advantages we gain from latter. Not only are high-skilled immigrants outstanding entrepreneurs, but evidence indicates that they also dominate some of the most demanding fields of study (Hunt, 2010). The report, published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reveals that high-skilled immigrants outperform college-educated natives in areas such patenting, publishing, and others. Immigrants consistently choose to study in fields 36 Table 3: Degrees Earned by Natives and Immigrants in 2003 U.S. NATIVE IMMIGRANT Bachelor s 65% 56.5% Master s 26% 28.6% Doctorate 2.9% 7.7% Professional 6.2% 7.2% Age 44.4 43.3 Age at arrival 23.3 Highest degree earned in U.S. 99.6% 55.5% Female 50.4% 47% White, non-hispanic 88% 30.9% Currently employed 85.5% 86.3% Currently employed at university 4.8% 8% Tenure (years) 8.4 6.7 Self-employed 16.5% 17.7% Source: Hunt, 2010

The Hinckley Journal of Politics 2013 The data establishes that high-skilled immigrants possess more of every type of post-college degree than natives. Likely due to their greater achievements, the study continues to explain that compared to natives (0.9%), double (2%) the amount of high-skilled immigrants have patented in the last five years. Additionally, 14.4% of natives had published materials, but 17.6% of immigrants had. Moreover, 6.8% of high-skilled immigrants had published more than six times compared to only 3.6% of natives. High-skilled immigrants superior abilities to start new business (many of which become extremely successful) create more jobs and their talented minds drive more innovation in this country. Their disproportionately immense contributions more than compensate for whatever jobs they may steal. THE NEXT GENERATION Though the accomplishments of high-skilled immigrants are very impressive, there is one group that can match them. The children of high-skilled immigrants are predictably talented as well. A 2004 study by Stuart Anderson, Executive Director for the NFAP, elected to focus on the contributions of the children of immigrants. The investigation discovered that 70% of winners of the 2004 Intel Science Talent Search were either immigrants or their children. Specifically, 18 participants had parents who had entered on a visa compared to 16 who had native-born parents. Children of immigrants dominated other events as well. Sixty-five percent of the 2004 U.S. Math Olympiad s top scorers and 46% of the U.S. Physics Team were comprised of children who had immigrant parents. Policies that make it more difficult for immigrants to come will not only deprive this country of their talent but also of their children s. As Anderson (2004) puts it, Their children are rising intellectual superstars and without them that nation s technological and scientific standing is at risk (p. 15). THE CAUSES FOR AN INEFFICIENT SYSTEM: NATIVISM Seventy percent of winners of the 2004 Intel Science Talent Search were either immigrants or their children. If all the evidence seems to clearly suggest that high-skilled immigrants are vital assets to this country, what then is the cause for so many negative policies? One study identifies two main concerns that create antiimmigration sentiments (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2010). Published in the American Political Science Review, a leading political science research journal, the survey experiment examined the Labor Market Competition (LMC) model and the Fiscal Burden (FB) model. The former predicts that natives are most opposed to immigrants with similar skill levels because, as the name implies, these will represent their biggest competition. The second model predicts that rich natives will oppose low-skilled immigrants and support high-skilled immigrants more than poor natives will. The reason for this is that the rich natives are paying for the social services likely being used by low-skilled immigrants. This should also cause rich natives to be more opposed to low-skilled immigrants in states that offer more access to social services. Consistent with the structure used in this paper, the study attempts to examine attitudes toward low-skilled and high-skilled immigrants separately (instead of looking at immigration as a whole). The first results contradict the Labor Market Competition model. The researchers find that both low-skilled and high-skilled natives strongly prefer high-skilled immigrants. Additionally, support for immigrants of all skill levels increases with the skills of the native. These findings imply that the Labor Market Competition model does not really cause anti-immigrant sentiments. As for the Fiscal Burden model, the study shows that rich and poor natives equally favor high-skilled over low-skilled immigrants and that the rich are surprisingly less opposed to low-skilled immigrants in states with more welfare programs. The poor natives, however, are more opposed to lowskilled immigrants in states with more fiscal exposure. In other words, the data indicates that fiscal burden concerns are mainly relevant among poor natives only. The combined results of the study reveal two important conclusions. The first one is that in every situation all natives seemed to always favor high-skilled immigrants. Once again, this begs the question as to why such an unfair visa system exists for high-skilled immigrants. The second conclusion offers a possible answer to this question. If two of the most prominent attitude formation theories do not explain anti-immigrant sentiments, and given that appreciation of immigrants seems to increase with a native s level of skill (education), negative attitudes appear to form based on non-economic factors. Nativism, a nostalgic ideology that works to secure its identity by treating difference as a threat, creates a lack of tolerance that crosses into racism too often in the American immigration debate. Jason Riley (2008), author of Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders, arrives at a similar conclusion. The author believes that eugenics, a science that advocates improving the population through selective breeding and is closely related to the ideology of Social Darwinism, is one of the root causes for anti-immigration sentiment in this country. The belief that access should be restricted to individuals of inferior quality is very problematic. Quality is a subjective concept that cannot easily be assigned to different races. However, if we assume for a moment that the quality of individuals is based on their productive ability, then the argument of eugenics could also be used against natives. The evidence provided in this research demonstrates that immigrants (usually high-skilled) can in fact be more productive than the native population (Anderson & Platzer, 2006; NFAP, 2007; Anderson, 2004; Fairlie, 2008; Hunt, 2010). Though nativism may partially explain why the visa system for highskilled immigrants remains so inefficient, it mostly applies to attitudes towards low-skilled and undocumented immigrants. Support for high-skilled immigration reform is actually more widespread. However, change remains elusive. Lawmakers are beginning to recognize the need for reform, but cannot seem to agree on how to proceed (Selyukh, 2013). Opinions range from those who believe Congress should focus on H-1Bs to those who wish to begin with the green card situation (Martinez, 2013). Until all political parties can come to a compromise, the nation will continue to lose exceptional workers and delay its course to having a more productive workforce. CONCLUSION: THERE ARE SOLUTIONS As serious as the situation may seem, better policies can be easily implemented to quickly resolve many of the issues regarding high-skilled immigrants. For example, a simple policy that eliminates the per country limits for employment-based green cards would lower the waiting time for India (70 years) to about 10 years in the EB-3 category (Anderson, 2011). Solely removing per country limits will not eliminate all the total backlogs that exist for the different categories, but it would at least make it fairer for countries with larger populations by creating a true first-come, first-serve system. The ideal solution though, would be to eliminate the limits completely or at least increase them. A policy that creates 50,000 exemptions from visas for students with U.S. degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) would eliminate the entire backlog of the EB-2 category within three years and make the EB-3 category current within 10 years. Between fiscal years 1992 to 2006, about 500,000 available visas were unused. Special legislation recaptured about 200,000 of these, but that 37

Unlimited Talent: The Benefits of High-Skilled Immigrants Nicolas Tang still leaves around 300,000 unused visas. Restoring these visas would also accelerate the elimination of backlogs. Fortunately, many legislators have noticed the problems and are attempting to solve them. On November 29, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.3012 (Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act). If enforced, this policy would eliminate per country limits for employment-based green cards over a period of four years. Other helpful bills include H.R.2161 (eliminates per country limits and establishes exemption from the total limits for immigrants with U.S. master s degree or higher in STEM), S.3217 (creates 50,000 exemptions for immigrants with U.S. STEM degrees and eliminates per country limits), S.3192 (creates an exemption from quota for U.S. STEM graduates), and S.3185 (reallocates 50,000 green cards from the Diversity Lottery to immigrants with advanced degrees in STEM from U.S. universities). My conclusion is to urge policymakers to re-examine the immigration debate focusing on high-skilled immigrants. Though the general issue of immigration may be more complicated and hard to solve, the evidence clearly indicates that high-skilled immigrants warrant better policies. They are astonishing entrepreneurs (Anderson & Platzer, 2006; Fairlie, 2008), they possess the brightest minds (Hunt, 2010), and their children are remarkably talented as well (Anderson, 2004). Furthermore, research also indicates that anti-immigrant sentiment is usually motivated by non-economic factors such as racial tension and ignorance (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2010). If Congress and the general public can unite to scrutinize the issues objectively, removing notions of nativism or intolerance, and with willingness to compromise, comprehensive reform should be easily achievable. To remain a fair and competitive country, new policies need to invite talent and productive ability regardless of its origin. REFERENCES Anderson, S. (2011). Waiting and More Waiting: America s Family and Employment-Based Immigration System. In National Foundation for American Policy. Retrieved from http://www.nfap.com/pdf/ WAITING_NFAP_Policy_Brief_October_2011.pdf Anderson, S. (2011). Answering The Critics of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In Cato Institute. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/ publications/trade-briefing-paper/answering-critics-comprehensive-immigration-reform Anderson, S. 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