The US government says that between 2020 and 2030, America will need 1 million more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers. Immigrants help fill these jobs and the Biden government has a plan to attract them.
The American Immigration Council made guides on the government’s 5 STEM plans:
- Matching US companies looking to host non-immigrant J-1 exchange visitors
- 22 fields of study added to the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program
- Updated how the USCIS decides eligibility for O-1 visas
- USCIS policy update on national interest waivers (NIWs) for immigrants with advanced STEM degrees, letters from US government agencies or organizations, or who are entrepreneurs
- Additional 36 months of study for J-1 exchange visitors
They also made a factsheet on immigrant STEM workers that showed the following:
Immigrant STEM workers increased from 1.2 million to 2.5 million between 2000 to 2019. They went from being 16.4% of all STEM workers to 23.1%.
While 67.3% of US-born STEM workers have at least a bachelor’s degree, 86.5% of immigrant STEM workers do. And 49.3% of them had an advanced degree.
Over 25% of workers came from India, followed by China, Mexico, and Vietnam.
Female STEM workers remain underrepresented, going from 26.8% of all STEM workers to 27.2%.
According to research, 100 immigrants with advanced STEM degrees create 86 jobs for US-born workers. So more people and organizations should use the government’s STEM plan to strengthen the US STEM workforce, boost innovation, and create more jobs.
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