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   Our Mission
   Our People
   Financials
   Contact Us
   Careers
 * Policies
   Climate
   Criminal Justice
   Democracy and Election Security
   Fiscal and Monetary Policy
   Immigration
   Legal
   Regulation
   Social Policy
 * Open Society
   Faster Growth, Fairer Growth
   The Open Society Project
   Political Science
   State Capacity
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Commentary
Immigration


PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED DATA: THE U.S. LOST 45,000 COLLEGE GRADS TO CANADA’S
HIGH-SKILL VISA FROM 2017 TO 2021 


By Cecilia Esterline
March 14, 2023

Despite having some of the best universities and training programs in the world,
the U.S. struggles to retain high-value international students, thanks to our
outdated immigration system. Canada has historically been one of our competitors
for talent, and new data obtained by the Niskanen Center demonstrates just how
stark this problem has become. To remain competitive in the global market, the
U.S. must find ways to prevent the continued loss of domestically-trained
talent.

The data demonstrate that Canada is eager to profit from the valuable training
of our graduates and can do so by taking advantage of the systemic shortcomings
that often render our labor market inaccessible to these foreign students. 

Niskanen recently obtained previously unreported (and still unpublished) data
from the Canadian immigration office’s Statistical Reporting Group detailing top
Express Entry applicants’ educational and citizenship backgrounds. Express Entry
is Canada’s recruitment arm for skilled talent worldwide. Recipients can pursue
permanent residence in Canada without requirements for employer sponsorship or
secured employment. Express Entry applicants must demonstrate their language
skills, educational credentials, and work experience and are then ranked as a
part of Canada’s point-based system. Only the top applicants are invited to seek
permanent residence. 

According to the data we obtained, between 2017 and 2021, approximately 45,000
invitations went to skilled workers who received their postsecondary education
in the U.S–88 percent of whom were not U.S. citizens. 

This is especially disconcerting because many international students at American
universities do want to work in the U.S. after graduation. What’s more,the U.S.
desperately needs these students. Still, our outdated immigration system makes
employing them unnecessarily difficult.

One of the most common pathways for international students to remain in the
United States is Optional Practical Training, followed by a bid in the H-1B
lottery. Unlike Express Entry, success in the H-1B lottery is not based on
merit, but on a random selection of petitions chosen for adjudication. The most
recent rate of selection was about one in four, meaning that nearly 75 percent
of H-1B hopefuls never had the chance to put their credentials before U.S.
immigration officials. 

This lottery and the overall capacity restraints of the immigration system put
the U.S. at a distinct disadvantage. We invest in educating and training
thousands of international students every year, often with incredibly valuable
skill sets. But then we don’t offer opportunities for these skilled individuals
to stay and contribute to our economy after graduation–despite the high demand
from employers. This amounts to our loss, and Canada’s gain.

Since 2013, Canadian companies have regularly run billboard advertisements in
Silicon Valley to target foreign talent frustrated by the American immigration
system’s limitations. These billboards are straightforward: “H-1B Problems?
Pivot to Canada.”  Though they target individuals, companies are also
responding. 

According to Envoy Global’s 2022 Immigration Trends Report respondents, 71
percent of American employers are pursuing global strategies to retain talent
that couldn’t obtain U.S. work authorization, with Canada being the top
destination for employee relocation. 

This is a win-win scenario for Canada. Immigrants arrive ready to work with
highly sought-after skills, contribute to the Canadian economy in tax and
consumption, and fill — or create — jobs that can stimulate further economic
growth. 

While international students make up less than 5 percent of all higher education
enrollees in the U.S., they are vastly overrepresented in our most crucial
fields. For instance, in electrical engineering, petroleum engineering, and
computer science graduate programs, approximately 80 percent of students are
foreign-born. When the U.S. fails to provide ample and accessible visa pathways
for these students after graduation, they take their valuable skills
elsewhere–to our competitors’ benefit, and to our detriment.

This new data spells out in stark numbers what we had already reasonably
deduced: that the U.S. is in the midst of a brain drain, and Canada is reaping
the benefits as talent moves elsewhere to put their critical skills into
practice. The U.S. must respond promptly by providing ample and viable visa
pathways that can protect the educational investments made in these students.

Photo credit: iStock


RELATED POSTS

5 immigration proposals the Biden administration should consider this year
February 6, 2023 • Matthew La Corte,  Cecilia Esterline,  Gil Guerra
How immigrants can alleviate the domestic labor shortage
November 21, 2022 • Cecilia Esterline
Immigration Policy Brief: International Students
May 28, 2019 • Matthew La Corte


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LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL STUDENT LANGUAGE SKILLS

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TACKLING IMMIGRATION REFORM IN A DIVIDED WASHINGTON, WITH KRISTIE DE PEÑA

March 1, 2023
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WE CAN DO MORE TO HELP INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STUDYING IN THE U.S. WHO CAN’T
SAFELY RETURN HOME

February 14, 2023 • Claire Holba
Read More
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