For years, America has been the center of scientific and technological innovation for the entire species.
When things are discovered, built, or innovated, it's done in America.
That status could be at risk, in large part due to the fact that the country is training outstandingly qualified people before promptly throwing them out for the rest of the world to scoop up.
At the moment, a group of tech firms are trying to get Congress to fix that.
FWD.us — an advocacy group that is the brainchild of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and has the backing of several major players in tech — is advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, and particularly for reforming H-1B visas — temporary permits that allow high-skilled immigrants to work with a company for five years while applying for residency or a green card.
One thing FWD.us and tech firms involved in advocacy say is that there aren't enough Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors to fill demand.
That part isn't necessarily true. The issue isn't the shortage per se. The issue is the inefficiency and arbitrariness of the current system of high-tech visas.
We've assembled a series of charts to explain why this is so.
Before we get to the charts, there are four key points to take away from this presentation. First, there isn't really a shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors. We're not seeing the type of STEM wage inflation you'd expect to see in a true shortage.
Second, America is letting the world's best and brightest get an education here, but has failed in getting them to work here.
Third, American businesses have to contend with an unpredictable hiring process for talented international workers.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider