Free «Foreign Students and Immigration Reform» Essay

Introduction

America has maintained its efforts of attracting and retaining skilled and talented international workers. Currently, those students who come to the USA and enroll for English and academic programs may benefit from an opportunity of living in America and working after graduation if the immigration reform will be voted in. The main pathway that has been used to retain the students is the H-1B visa program which they get upon graduation. This issue has been received with mixed reactions from not only the political class, but also by interest groups and the media. The advantage of the allowing the foreign students to work in the U.S., especially in the Midwest with a higher population of foreign students compared to resident students is the increase in the pool of labor. However, those in opposition such as some lawmakers have expressed their concern that the move will reduce the chances of American students of accessing job opportunities. The population of foreign students comprise a substantial number hence the reason for this concern.  I think foreign students who obtain the advanced STEM degree upon graduation at the universities in the U.S should not be retained to live and work in the USA. I therefore I agree with the concern.

Foreign students may depress wages for Americans. The foreign students are deemed to possess abilities and skills which are superior to those of the U.S. resident graduates. This may support the notion that they may end up being paid more wage such as foreign information workers who are paid approximately 2.3 percent more than Americans. Former foreign students of a particular subpopulation  are paid  on average β₆ more—or less, in case this quantity is negative—than their counterpart Americans with similar educational attainment , age, region and other such criteria. Some U.S. companies which have been quite ready to encourage a supply of foreign technical workers has however been allowed to pay lower wages to the foreign workers while making conditions that less attract Americans to science and engineering.

The impact of retaining a large group as 96, 200 foreign students invited through the F-1 visas in 2010 compared to an only a fraction of these students are able to benefit from being awarded a visa after graduating as temporary skilled-workers. The number is too great to manage especially in the wake terrorist activities where many may pose to be foreign students but with an intention to harm America such as the case of the Boston Marathon where questions were raised if a better immigration system would have prevented the “Gang of Eight” from entering America. If the large number is of foreign-born graduate students are retained to work in the USA, the native-born will technically be denied a chance pursuing the same field. Their presence in the USA will cause bad working and living conditions since the available work will have too many workers to do it.

Failure to retain many students is denying the country these students’ intellectual and entrepreneurial contributions. This is brain drain in America since these talented in the Stem fields will be forced out of the United States. If this immigration reform will no be implemented, America will be handicapping itself since other countries will do everything possible to woo these skilled foreigners to their countries. In engineering, there are more than 50 percent graduate students the majority of the universities. They are important since they hold research programs through millions of dollars are generated in funding. In addition, they are critical to the careers of the professors associated to the management of the research programs.  It does not make sense for America to tell the foreign students trained in top universities and colleges that it does neither welcome them nor value them.

Conclusion

It is agreeable that retaining foreign graduate students through the immigration reform through the F-1B visa will cause limit jobs for Americans. The number of students in American colleges and universities too high and therefore the available work will be divided among them.  It will be costly to manage national security since in this large number, terrorist can easily hide and cause harm to Americans. However, there will be brain drain if America sends the people it has to go and work in other countries.