Summary
A new paper argues that U.S. policies on high-skilled immigration, particularly the H-1B visa program, are ineffective at bringing in top talent needed for economic growth. The paper suggests that the current lottery system should be replaced with a system based on worker value to improve productivity and growth.
Key Facts
- The United States is not effectively allowing top foreign talent to work in the country due to current immigration policies.
- A paper from the Aspen Economic Strategy Group highlights a mismatch between U.S. ambitions for technological leadership and its immigration policy.
- The H-1B visa program operates through a random lottery, which may not select the most skilled workers.
- The paper suggests using compensation-based criteria for visas could improve economic gains from high-skilled workers.
- Over 300,000 people apply yearly for H-1B visas using the current system.
- The Trump administration increased the application fee for H-1B visas to $100,000 to prioritize valuable workers.
- There's a call for a more refined approach to high-skilled immigration policies to maximize economic benefits.
