Immigration attorney Chris Gafner has published an immigration law article entitled Attracting the Best and Brightest: A Critique Of The Current Immigration System. Published in the Fordham Urban Law Journal,the article provides an in-depth analysis of the current U.S. immigration system for attracting the best and brightest immigrants to the United States. The article also examines the increasingly competitive international competition for these highly talented immigrants and suggests how the United States can better compete.
The United States has long been a leading destination for the most highly talented immigrants in the world. However, as the article highlights, the world has become highly competitive and many other countries are now competing to attract these highly-skilled immigrants. Compared to its competitors, the US immigration system for highly skilled workers is antiquated and unnecessarily subjective.
The United States possesses three main visa categories for the best and brightest immigrants.
The EB 1-A visa (also referred to as the EB 1-1 visa), is the most enticing visa the United States has to attract talented individuals to the United States. This visa allows foreign nationals to enter the United States and obtain permanent residency based upon having extraordinary abilities in a field that benefits the United States.
The EB 1-B visa (also referred to as the EB 1-2 visa) allows outstanding professors and researchers to enter the United States and gain permanent residency. To qualify, a foreign national must not only an outstanding professor or researcher, but also must be sponsored by a qualifying institution.
The National Interest Waiver (a.k.a. NIW) allows for talented immigrants to come to the United States and obtain permanent residency based upon the immigrant’s ability to provide a significant contribution to the United States’ national interest.
The article provides in-depth analysis of how the qualifications for these visas has changed over time.
The article was co-authored by Adjunct Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr of Cornell University.