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Comment by cthalupa | Hacker News Reader

Before we do that we need a visa to keep the kids we're educating in schools here in the country after they get their bachelor's or master's degrees.

Right now to go to work full time they have to get an H1B, which means they'll get screwed over if it becomes a matter of who pays the most.

The US loses if we educate kids on things, and then they move back to whatever country they came from. I mean, it's good for the country they go back to, but if we're looking at this in a self-interested "Good of the US" standpoint (Which we must be, if we're having this discussion at all), we want to keep them here.

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I take the point but why?

Oversees students are a revenue stream for universities as they can charge more and subsidise locals or pay the hug wages bursars get.

And is it fair to steal the best and brightest from third world countries?

>I take the point but why?

Because we are spending resources teaching them things, and not reaping the real reward of that effort. Being attractive to the best and brightest is a way to keep innovation and progress going.

>And is it fair to steal the best and brightest from third world countries?

Is it fair for them to be forced to live someplace with a lower quality of life just because they were born there? To deal with the lack of infrastructure? etc. If they feel a moral obligation to go back to their home and try to improve that, that's great for them - but it shouldn't be an obligation we've forced upon them because we decided that immigrants are icky and all we want from them is their money for 4-6 years.

There's absolutely no reason we shouldn't make it easy for students educated in the US to stay in the US, especially if they work in STEM or any other research heavy field.

Yeah I have been waiting for green card for 15 years. US Masters degree in CS from top-10 university, 6 publications, 100+ citations. Senior staff engineer in top valley company for 6 years, got multiple awards/always top performer. Then started own company(multi-million$ revenue) and created ~10 high-paying jobs in the valley. With the new proposed H1 changes, I will have to leave since H1 extensions are being revoked. Not that I mind, getting bored of the valley - Europe is definitely better in terms of diversity. Also I have seen that the advantage of being physically in the valley is no longer what it was. Everything happens remotely - yes even sales.

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