Saying that the United States is increasingly perceived as an unwelcoming place, a National Academies committee issued a report yesterday (May 10) calling for the creation of a new category of visas to make it easier for international graduate students and postdocs to study in the United States.
"Even with the improvements in the visa process, there still remains a lingering sense among many potential international students and postdocs that the US is a less welcoming place than other places they might go," said committee chair Phillip A. Griffiths of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.
Data on foreign students' intents and aspirations—and on postdocs, in particular—was not always easy to find, said Griffiths, but the panel determined that trends indicate that foreign nationals may be thinking twice about coming to the United States and going elsewhere to pursue science and engineering degrees, research, and careers, while American ...
