Highly educated, foreign-born professionals have a long history of making great contributions to the United States. They drive economic growth, innovation and job creation. Immigrants are 30 percent more likely to form new businesses than U.S.-born citizens, and major U.S. employers, such as Intel, eBay, Yahoo! and Google, were all co-founded by immigrants. Among people with advanced degrees, immigrants are three times more likely to file patents than U.S.-born citizens, and for every high-skilled, temporary H-1B visa position requested, U.S. technology companies increase their employment by five workers.

However, America’s outdated, employment-based immigration policies shut the door to top world talent and all the great benefits they bring to U.S. economic growth and job creation. More than 1 million highly educated foreign-born professionals and their families are currently waiting for green cards, yet only 140,000 employment-based green cards are available annually, a cap set by Congress in 1990.

While America fails to modernize its policies, the rest of the world has recognized the importance of welcoming top talent into their workforces. Consider that only 7 percent of the 1 million-plus green cards issued each year are allocated based on employment. Comparatively, Canada admits 25 percent of immigrants based on employment, Australia 42 percent, and the United Kingdom and Germany almost 60 percent. Furthermore, opportunities abroad have become more attractive for foreign-born professionals. According to a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation survey, more than 90 percent of Chinese and 60 percent of Indian returnee entrepreneurs said the availability of economic opportunities in their countries was a very important factor in their return, and roughly 75 percent of Indian respondents and more than 80 percent of Chinese respondents said that the chance to start their own companies was better in their own countries than in America.

Reforms to the U.S. immigration system for highly educated, foreign-born professionals, many of whom graduate with advanced degrees from U.S. universities in the critical STEM fields, must be enacted to ensure that America welcomes top world talent.

Unfortunately, as with U.S. policy on education and the workforce, immigration policy is stalled. Although there is widespread, bipartisan agreement that giving American employers greater access to highly educated, foreign-born professionals is good for U.S. growth and job creation, these reforms have been tied to passing more controversial comprehensive immigration reform, which has produced a stalemate in Congress.

In addition to building domestic talent, the United States should welcome the best and brightest from around the world. BRT will continue to promote changes in immigration policies for highly educated, foreign-born talent, particularly for foreign nationals who receive advanced degrees in STEM fields from U.S. universities. Clearly, as a nation, America also needs to resolve longstanding problems with both legal and illegal immigration, and BRT will begin to develop the substance and strategy for a path forward on comprehensive immigration reform.