Why Skilled Immigrants to the US Are Going Home

Filed in archive Americas on March 30, 2009

BusinessWeek had an article early this month on how many of the most highly skilled workers in America today are opting to return to their home countries instead of remaining in the U.S.

As the debate over H-1B workers and skilled immigrants intensifies, we are losing sight of one important fact: The U.S. is no longer the only land of opportunity. If we don't want the immigrants who have fueled our innovation and economic growth, they now have options elsewhere. Immigrants are returning home in greater numbers. And new research shows they are returning to enjoy a better quality of life, better career prospects, and the comfort of being close to family and friends.

That process cuts across the U.S. economy in two ways. Not only do we lose a great source of human capital, our competitors suddenly have access to it. For every skilled immigrant we see depart our shores, somebody else gets one - and it's probably somebody we're competing with.

People who think that the immigration debate is about Central American migrants do when there's not as crop to pick. The truth is that it is at east as much about how we will meet the demand for doctors, researchers and engineers - and how we will compete in a global economy.


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