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Study warns that current visa and export policies hamper growth in science jobs. Science job and workforce growth in the United States could be stymied under current federal controls that
govern visas and exports, warns a new report, which calls for a revision of the existing regulations. The January 2009 report by the National Research Council, _Beyond “Fortress America”:
National Security Controls on Science and Technology in a Globalized World_, says current visa and export regulations are rooted in the 1950s, hamper US competitiveness and impede science
and technology job and industry growth. US visa and export regulations impede the free flow of people into the country as well as information or products out of it. Recent changes in visa
laws have lengthened the time it takes for a non-US resident to get a US visa, the US state department concedes on its website. Export laws limit or bar publication of information and
exportation of goods that could potentially pose a threat to national security. The regulations are driving critical jobs, and valuable discoveries and inventions, overseas, the report says.
John Hennessy, president of Stanford University in California, was co-chair of the council committee that authored the report, and Deanne Siemer, a lawyer and consultant, and Gerald
Epstein, from think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, both based in Washington, DC, joined him on the committee. They say non-US students and scientists must have
access to US universities and science labs. Research collaborations are jeopardized when non-US scientists experience delays getting a visa and can stay for only a brief period, they say.
“Increasingly, we see organizations choosing to have meetings outside the United States to avoid visa issues,” Hennessy says. “If we don't permit the world's best students and
scholars, scientists and technologists to come here, [science job creation] won't happen,” says Epstein. “Science and technology graduates are the ones who actually create more US
science jobs,” agrees Siemer. The report recommends non-US scientists receive a visa under an accelerated skill-based selection process. “We must get that talent here faster,” Siemer says.
“We're talking about our economic competitiveness.” > If we don't permit the world's best students and scholars, > scientists and technologists to come here, [science
job creation] > won't happen. Gerald Epstein, Center for Strategic and International > Studies, Washington, DC Siemer believes an executive order from the White House mandating
the recommended changes could be signed. “There is a large reservoir of expertise behind this report,” Siemer says. “It's likely this will be adopted.” Authors * Karen Kaplan View
author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RELATED LINKS RELATED LINKS RELATED LINKS IN NATURE RESEARCH Visa quotas could soon be relaxed in the United
States and Europe. But will the economic downturn mitigate the potentially positive effects? Prospect More countires are opening their doors to scientific immigration Election returns
RELATED EXTERNAL LINKS US. State Department US Department of Commerce National Research Council “Beyond Fortress America” RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE
CITE THIS ARTICLE Kaplan, K. Scientists without borders. _Nature_ 457, 752 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7230-752b Download citation * Published: 04 February 2009 * Issue Date: 05
February 2009 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7230-752b SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable
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