High-skill return migration in the technology, medical, and academic sectors: the case of India and the USA

Abstract

The concept of brain drain contends that the migration of highly skilled individuals benefits receiving countries at the expense of sending countries. Though research supports this concept, several cases have been documented whereby a mutually beneficial relationship evolved through the formation of transnational communities and return migration. The research presented herein seeks to understand the extent of the relationship between the sector of a service, transnational communities, and return migration through a case study of high-skill migration scenarios – including the information technology, medical services, and post-secondary education (academic) sectors. The study focuses on the migration relationship between India and the USA – one of the world's largest high-skill flows. To gain a rich understanding of the migration relationships, the field research is based on 50 personal interviews and 512 survey responses of high-skilled immigrants and subject matter experts across the USA in the three sectors.