Reverse Brain-Drain (Part 1)

There are more than 1,000,000 skilled immigrant workers – scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers competing for 120,000 permanent U.S. resident visas each year says the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

What that means is that some skilled workers will be forced to return home creating a 'brain-drain' in the United States.

The contributions of foreign nationals have a measurable

impact on U.S. intellectual property.

Foreign nationals living in the United States have been named as co-inventors in one-fourth (25.6%) of all international patents filed from the United States last year. This number is up 7.6% from eight years ago.

It might be argued that every time someone goes back home, there are seven or eight others waiting to take his/her place.

That is true…but many processes must be started over again.

Then again…fresh blood can mean new ideas.

I am not sure the 'reversed brain-drain' is something to worry about.

What do you think?