FOREIGN STUDENTS are a boon to American colleges and universities, especially in the fields - science, technology, engineering, and math - that lack enough native-born students. But stringent immigration policies can discourage foreign students who want to study here. Now federal officials are making changes to crack down on abusers and better help students who follow the rules. But they must do so with great care.
Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, associate dean for international students at MIT, worries that if the new procedures prove burdensome, they could send an unwelcoming message to exceptional students this country needs. Indeed, the United States could lose many foreign students to Canada, Australia, or Britain.
At MIT last month, Julie Myers, head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, outlined a proposal to increase visa fees, to pay for improving the student visa database and hiring more staff to help schools and conduct investigations. Student fees would go from $100 to $200, and school fees would go from $230 to $1,700. Added staff and a better database could benefit students by speeding up the bureaucratic process, as long as these measures didn't scare people off by overemphasizing security.
Another change that has already occured lets graduates with degrees in key fields extend their visas by 17 months if they get jobs. That's good news because it keeps fresh talent here. But the regulations call for schools to keep tracking these graduates in their new jobs. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security should devise an electronic way for employers to report this information directly.
Ultimately, though, the country needs real reform that would increase the number of H-1B visas for skilled workers, so that more graduates and other immigrants could get them.
To stay competitive, the United States needs a global talent pool.
