America’s industries of the future need more workers

America’s industries of today and of the future need more workers

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google and current chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Defense Innovation Board) explains how the United States government needs to step up its efforts to win the technology competition with China. This includes building a workforce of technology experts, in part by recruiting global talent to the U.S:

"A majority of computer scientists with graduate degrees working in America were born abroad, as were most current graduate students studying computer science in U.S. universities. They are a source of national strength. A vast majority want to stay and contribute to American innovation. We must make it easier for them to do so."

In recent years, labor shortages have challenged emerging industries like artificial intelligence (AI) that rely on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, STEM fields had unemployment rates below the national average and more than 300,000 more jobs than there were workers to fill them, according to estimates from New American Economy.¹ And even though the pandemic, unemployment in computer-related fields actually fell.

Maintaining American leadership in STEM fields is critical not only to economic growth but also to national security and global leadership. Dr. Arthur Herman, an expert on defense, energy, and technology issues, writes in American Affairs:

"Today’s Defense Department and other leading experts all agree that the future of America’s defense will rely on advanced technologies such as AI, cyber, quantum, robotics, directed energy and hypersonic weapons, and even 3-D printing. … All of the above technologies will be critical if the United States is to maintain its military superiority over its rivals, including China."

Yet, despite the demand for STEM workers, America's immigration laws and policies get in our own way, limiting the avenues available to skilled foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities to remain in the U.S. they graduate and fill critical jobs in the U.S. workforce.

Retaining international graduates must be part of the solution

To ensure these roles are filled by the best-educated and most highly-skilled professionals, the U.S. must supplement its domestic labor force. As the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence explained in a recent report, “The American AI talent pool depends heavily on international students and workers. Our global competitiveness hinges on our ability to attract and retain top minds from around the world.”

Fortunately, there are tens of thousands of highly-skilled and U.S.-educated STEM graduates already in the United States and prepared to enter the workforce. In 2018, 50% of advanced STEM degrees awarded by U.S. colleges and universities went to international graduates, totaling over 250,000 graduates.² Many of these graduates already have hands-on, U.S.-based work experience in their field of study thanks to participation in Optional Practical Training (OPT), a temporary immigration employment program that aims to facilitate their entry into the workforce (but is limited to a maximum of three years). And these students increasingly want to stay in the U.S. after graduation.

The H-1B program simply does not provide enough visas or prioritization to effectively retain international STEM graduates. There are only 85,000 H-1B visas available each year, a cap set by Congress and unchanged for a decade; yet in FY17 USCIS received 236,000 employer-sponsored H-1B petitions in the first week, triggering a randomized lottery to see who would be lucky enough to apply for one of the 85,000 spots.

Though Congress and government agencies have tried to prioritize international graduates in the H-1B lottery by setting aside 20,000 of the annual H-1B visas for applicants with advanced degrees from U.S. schools and refining the selection order, the rapidly growing number and share of international graduates has far outpaced this small set-aside, while the demand for such high skilled labor continues to increase.

Since 2012, individuals with an advanced degree from a U.S. school have grown from 25% to 50% of the H-1B petition pool.⁶ In 2018, the total number of U.S. advanced degree holders being sponsored for H-1Bs hit 95,000, eclipsing the total number of available visas by 10,000.