In this week’s Prospect I write about the shifting landscape in R&D visas. US President-elect Barak Obama has nominated Arizona governor Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security. DHS grants citizenship and visas. Napolitano has supported increasing the number of H1-B visas, which are used to hire foreign information-technology specialists, researchers and other highly skilled workers.

Napolitano’s nomination begs several questions:
Will Congress appoint her, given the visa controversy of the past seven years?
-Will she recommend increasing the number of H1-Bs-and will Congress go along with that decision?
-And how will the economy affect potential scientific migration into the US? Many universities and private research institutions have lost value in the endowments used to support some of their staff. Many state budgets, which support public universities are running deficits. That means they won’t have money for infrastructure and staffing. Companies too, are hurting, with Pharma facing consolidations and layoffs that have cut into the R&D ranks.

This potentially represents a bitter irony for scientists considering moving to the US. It may be easier to get in, via visa. But there may be less reason to do so, considering the job market.

The EU, which has historically attracted relatively few scholars from outside Europe, is moving closer to an H1-B model. This process has been on-going since 1999. In order for it to become a reality, all EU member states must approve it. Then each country will have two years to implement it.

Questions remain here, too. Will this really happen, and how long will it take? And will changing the visa status help the EC achieve its goal of doubling the number of highly educated workers in Europe? Or are there other factors that need to addressed?

Any thoughts about how you have been affected by visa issues in the past or opinions about how these proposed changes might alter your future, please let us know.