International students are usually hired on H-1B visas, a program that allows companies to employ foreign workers with specialized training.
Restrictions set on the program, fewer employment opportunities and a decrease in financial aid from colleges have led to the slowest growth in international students studying sciences in the U.S. in years.
The number of visas that can be issued annually through the H-1B program was capped by Congress at 65,000 in 2004 after the expiration of a temporary increase from 2001-2003 that set the limit at 195,000.
Since 2004, technology companies including Microsoft Corp. have pushed Congress to again expand the cap. Microsoft co- founder Bill Gates, in urging lawmakers in 2008 to allow more foreign workers to be hired in the U.S., said the Redmond, Washington-based company had been unable to employ a third of its foreign candidates due to the visa cap.
When the 195,000 cap expired, though, the economy was recovering from the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks, and “there was little interest by Congress” to increase the limit.
The program was additionally restricted by the economic stimulus measure enacted in February 2009 that requires companies receiving federal bailout money to make an effort to hire U.S. citizens before those with H-1B visas.
Because H-1B visa petitions are made on behalf of the interested company, fees are paid by the employer. The petitions must be approved by the U.S. Department of Labour and the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship.
A new border security measure signed into law Aug. 13 by President Barack Obama will add $2,000 to fees in visas for companies which have more than half their employees on foreign- work visas.
The base fee for employment-based applications for a U.S. visa is $720 per person, according to the Department of State. Processing the application, medical examinations and obtaining needed documents usually increase the fee.
U.S. colleges accustomed to hosting large numbers of international students in their science and engineering programs are seeing a slowdown in the growth of such enrolments.
A report by the National Science Foundation released in July showed a growth in 2009 of 0.2 percent, or 130 students, in new enrollment by international students in science and engineering fields at U.S. colleges and universities. It grew by 8.6 percent in 2007.
At New York’s Columbia University, international students accounted for 21 percent, or about 7,000, of the student body in the 2008-2009 school year. These students funnelled almost $250 million to Columbia in tuition and living expenses, according to a report by its international student office.
