Policy Factsheet

International STEM Students: Key to American Innovation

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Action

To make the U.S. a destination of choice for international STEM students, members of Congress should support legislation that:

  • Authorizes declaration of dual intent F-1 student visas
  • Exempts advanced STEM degree holders from green card caps
  • Standardizes the vetting process

Retaining U.S.-Trained International Students Spurs Innovation

  • Between 1990 and 2016, only 16% of all U.S.-based inventors were foreign-born, but these foreign-born inventors are responsible for nearly one quarter of high-quality patents.
  • As of 2022, one-quarter of the billion-dollar startup companies in the U.S. have a founder who first came to America as an international student.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, "The Contribution of High-Skilled Immigrants to Innovations in the United States"

U.S. Losing Ability to Attract Global Talent

Current students and early career researchers are more likely to consider leaving the U.S. than those who got their PhDs earlier.

Two donut charts showing willingness to leave the U.S.: 47% of established international scholars who received their PhD before 2018, and 73% of international students and early caereer scientists

Students and researchers considering, or have considered, pursuing a career in a country other than the U.S.

Reported Factors in Considering Pursuing a Career in a Country Other Than the U.S.

Percentage of respondents that chose the following options

Horizontal bar chart showing reasons early career physicists and students are wiling to leave the U.S.: Bar 1: Pathway to permanent residency or citizenship, 67%, Bar 2: Perception of the U.S. being unwelcoming to foreigners, 53%, Bar 3: Better employment opportunities, 51%, Bar 4: Proximity to family, 44%, Bar 5: Financial considerations, 40%

Results from Fall 2022 APS survey of more than 200 international physics graduate students currently in the U.S. and early career professionals, i.e., APS members who are PhD graduates with fewer than five years of experience, who are working in the United States, and are holding or have held U.S. visas.

International Students Benefit U.S. Science

Key Contributions of International Students and Scholars, According to American Physicists

Bar chart with three columns: 1. Diverse points of view 85%, 2. New ideas, 79%, 3. Strong scientific knowledge, 85%

Source: APS Building America’s STEM Workforce: Eliminating Barriers and Unlocking Advantages

Immigration Reform Is Necessary to Attract and Retain STEM Talent

Competition for top international students is growing. To encourage the best and brightest students to remain in the U.S. and contribute their skills to our scientific enterprise, any immigration reform must include:

  • Authorization of declaration of dual intent: International students pursuing advanced STEM degrees in the U.S. could legally declare their plan to stay and pursue careers here post graduation.
  • Exemptions from green card caps: International students, along with their spouses and children, would be exempt from green card caps when they earn an advanced STEM degree from an accredited U.S. institution and receive an offer of employment from a U.S. company.
  • Standardization of the vetting process: International students already in the U.S. on a student visa for an undergraduate program would undergo the same strengthened vetting at USCIS that the State Department currently performs for prospective advanced STEM degree students applying for a student visa from outside of the U.S.

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