U.S. Immigration Policy Speeds Up Overseas Chinese Students' Return

U.S. Immigration Policy Speeds up Return of Overseas Chinese Students

People have been asking why so many Chinese students who studied in the United States did not remain there?

The number of students returning to China has been increasing in recent years, catching the attention of American mainstream media. According to USA Today, due to the difficulty and time required to attain a technology visa, in addition to the high cost of living in the United States, many foreign-born technology talents have returned to their home countries, especially China and India. The numbers are anywhere from 100,000 to several hundred thousand. Many Americans are worried that in the long term, America’s technology and innovation strength will be affected.

According to the data released by the Chinese Ministry of Education, in 2010 the number of Chinese students returning to China from the U.S. was 134,800, an increase of 25 percent from 2009 (108,000). The reasons for their return varied. Some of them planned to open a business back home, but most of the returnees were affected by visas. Applying for an H1B visa is not easy now; the unemployment rate is high because of the economic downturn and employers’ willingness to hire new employees, especially foreigners, is decreasing. In the past two years, the H1B visa quota was either barely met or not filled at all by the end of each year. According to the latest green card listings released by the U.S. State Department, international students born in mainland China who apply for green cards based on employment will not receive any decisions until Oct. 15, 2016. In fact, seldom did an employer agree to apply for a green card for an employee at the beginning of employment, which made the waiting list even longer. Of course, this list can change, but there is little possibility of a big leap. In addition, during the application period the applicant cannot lose the projected position; if the offer is rescinded, the visa application will be terminated.

Many think that cost of living in the United States is low. In fact, even the mainstream media does not agree. Living in the United States includes not only food, but also rent and other costs of living; medical care is especially expensive. Recently, oil prices have been running high, driving up the prices of other commodities. In major cities like New York and Los Angeles, where Chinese students like to live, a student lifestyle is more difficult to maintain. Some employers have also been stirring up the trouble by asking international students to pay for their own application fee for the H1B visa. There have even been international students willing to be an unpaid intern or volunteer, or accept low paying jobs for visas.

The United States is an immigration country, and its development benefited from large numbers of immigrants. In the early years, the first immigrants were Germans who made huge contributions to airplane and automobile manufacturing, agriculture, food, technology development, etc. Silicon Valley in California is a perfect example of foreign immigrants’ contributions of ingenuity and innovation to technology in the United States. However, the city started to lose influence due to the brain drain. Some U.S. technology companies in Silicon Valley have begun to experience a talent shortage phenomenon.

On the other hand, fast-developing China is providing more entrepreneurial opportunities for returning students. The country has not only made plans to entice high-level personnel from overseas with the “Thousand People Plan,” but has also provided more favorable conditions for returning students, including the newly released Account Policy. Every city in China is introducing plans to lure in overseas talent, enhancing the support and flexibility of policy allowing overseas students to start businesses in the country. Based on the current development in China many continue to believe it’s a great time to start a business back home. All of these aspects are very attractive to Chinese students overseas. With the increasing number of students returning to China, students who studied overseas are beginning to play an important role in China’s technological development and in technology companies’ development. Apart from economic opportunity, cultural identity is another reason for the wave of increasing numbers of students returning to China.

In the current world, in a certain sense, the contest for talent decides a country’s strength. President Obama has sensed this urgency to keep talent by reforming immigration laws. In his speech in Texas on Thursday, he urged that immigration laws be reformed in order to try to keep highly skilled, hi-tech foreign talent in America, adding fuel to creative business in the country He said that he didn’t want to see the next Intel or Google be born in China or India.

The United States Immigration Office recently announced an expansion of the application sphere and internship period for foreign science students in the United States, added 50 majors and extended the application period to 29 months. This is one step in Obama’s commitment to fixing immigration policy, but this is not enough. America should take action as soon as possible on reforming immigration policy to keep talent. For China, improving the investment environment and making it more favorable for talent by introducing policy to attract more overseas students is a contributor to facilitating technological and economic development, which is crucial to the rise of China.