Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Title: Aligning High-Skilled Immigration Policy with National Strategy
Author-Name: Jeremy Neufeld
Abstract: The United States’ innovation edge rests on its ability to draw on the
  best talent from around the world. Yet, the laws that govern
  high-skilled immigration have barely moved since 1990 for permanent
  residency and since 2000 for temporary work visas, leaving them
  misaligned with the size and needs of today’s economy. Employers
  register for more than three times as many H-1Bs as are available each
  year, which are then awarded at random rather than on the basis of
  merit. For permanent residency, just 140,000 employment-based green
  cards are issued annually, most of which go to spouses and children
  rather than to workers themselves. The resulting backlogs now exceed one
  million, leaving many workers stuck in less productive jobs and
  discouraging future talent from coming to the US altogether. This paper
  charts the alphabet soup of high-skilled immigration pathways—F-1/OPT,
  J-1, H-1B, O-1A, EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3—demonstrating how inflexible and
  outdated rules have undermined the scale, selectivity, and retention of
  global talent. It proposes reforms to make immigration a renewed
  national strength: expanding green cards, piloting a points based system
  for permanent residency, and launching a government talent-scouting arm.
  Together, these steps would realign US immigration policy with national
  ambition and restore its role in fueling American innovation and
  economic leadership.
Creation-Date: 2025-10-01
Keywords: immigration, labor supply
File-URL: https://www.economicstrategygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Aligning-High-Skilled-Immigration-Policy-with-National-Strategy.pdf
File-Format: Application/PDF
Handle: RePEc:cxx:wpaper:aligning-high-skilled-immigration-policy-with-national-strategy