Indians upbeat about US proposal to grant more green cards to science & maths graduates

[OhioChick]

10 Feb, 2013, 07.50AM IST, Ishani Duttagupta,ET Bureau

US President Barack Obama's comprehensive immigration reform policy, which is taking shape under the recently introduced legislation by a bipartisan group of four Democrats and Republicans each in the Senate, highlights the path to legal citizenship for over 11 million illegal immigrants in America.

But for Indians, what is of greater interest is the proposal to grant more green cards to international graduate students studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

In 2011-12, about 1 lakh Indian students enrolled in the US, a drop of 3.5% over the previous year. Most Indian students go to the US to obtain advanced degrees in engineering, science and maths, with many of them returning when they cannot find jobs since there are no visa numbers for them. Creating special allowances will help some stay on in America.

"The recent momentum for skilled immigration in STEM fields is going to significantly benefit Indians, especially students intending to study in the US as over 70% of Indian students are enrolled in STEM fields," says Rahul Choudaha, director of research, World Education Services, a New York-based non-profit agency specialising in international education.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/indians-upbeat-about-us-proposal-to-grant-more-green-cards-to-science-maths-graduates/articleshow/18419713.cms

Interesting comments follow.

[ChromeFoundry]

1. Under what criteria?

Is there going to finally be a National Certification Exam for each of the graduate degrees sciences to rank graduates? If you are not in the upper 10-percentile...k-thanks-bye. Otherwise, we don't need longer unemployment lines. This would actually push more US citizens into these career paths because the playing field would now be much leveler.

Oh wait... that will never happen. Companies are looking to hire cheaper resources, at higher volumes. And companies are the ones making our congressmen wealthier.

[Angry Dragon]

2. Hire Americans then give visas

[awoke_in_2003]

3. Fuck the American worker...

as long as India (and the fat cats that hire cheap labor) is happy, that is all that matters.

[TexasTowelie]

4. From my own experience, the Indian students may be able to get a degree

but they are sorely lacking in problem solving skills. I've cleaned up many programs and applications developed by Indian counterparts. They may possess decent skills in the area for which they are trained, but the communication issues and their lack of business knowledge is usually a detriment.

There are plenty of qualified Americans to fill the available jobs--hire them first!

[davidpdx]

5. We should be holding on to the best and brightest to teach

India has an abundance of engineering students. Now how that should be limited, I don't know.

What really shocks me is the anti-immigrant attitude (especially toward people from India) by some on DU who at the same time are pushing for reforms to allow people who are already here to stay in the country. It's kind of like talking out of both sides of your mouth. I've been reading these kinds of comments for quite awhile and yet no one calls people on it.

I'll give you a personal story, I am currently working on a doctoral degree. One of my mentors is an immigrant from India. He has a bachelors in Political Science, masters in Asian Studies, masters in Public Administration, LLM specializing in Law in European Management and Employment Law, and a PhD in Government Administration. Now I don't know when he came to the US or under what circumstances and I would never ask. I can tell you the man is very smart and has my respect.

[alp227]

6. Leave america alone and instead expand the STEM sector in INDIA,

Indian nationals should build up their own country economy instead of screwing over american workers.

[rachel1]

7. As long as the visa holders work hard and contribute to US society

I don't have a problem.