S&E Immigration on the Rise

Abstract

Immigration of scientists and engineers to the United States, which peaked in 1993, is climbing again, according to the latest figures from the National Science Foundation (NSF). During the 1980s, about 12,000 arrived each year, but the ranks swelled dramatically in 1993 owing to changes in immigration law and a new law allowing Chinese students to stay in the United States after the Tienanmen Square killings. Nonetheless, says NSF analyst Mark Regets, graduate enrollments of foreigners in science and engineering continues to decline—from 93,085 in 1992 to 83,274 in 1995.