It is neither bad nor good per se, but it explains why Ph.D. don't stay.If the US is really interested in keeping foreign Ph.D. students they should change this policy, if they are interested in preserving "national integrity" they should continue this way, it is simply a matter of which policy they want to pursue, there is no moral judgment involved.
From a foreign Ph.D. student perspective it is pretty clear that we are merely tolerated in the US, and there is no interest in keeping us.
Capping the number of H1-B visas and making the visa and green card application process a nightmare is a clear indication of the lack of interest from the US government (or probably the US public opinion) in retaining highly educated and skilled professionals. We clearly feel unwanted, unappreciated and tolerated as an "evil" necessity by the general population. We are given much less consideration and opportunities in comparison to our US-born colleagues, often regardless of merit (see the admission statistics of US/nonUS nationals for HOT Ph.D. areas such as biomedical engineering). Anyone that has an even decent opportunity in his country of origin (or continent of origin for Europeans) will definitely go beck unless they have political or ethical issues with their home country.
Oh yeah, Paper. That is great... Last time i was in the US, I had to put a US sheet of paper (letter i guess? 9x11 Inches probably?) in an A4 (21x 29.7 cm or the 4 folding of an A0 sheet of paper if you prefer like that) envelope I carried from Italy.... and guess what, it doesn't fit, so I spent a couple of hours photocopying all the material I carried from italy in 9x11 format, and only then I was able to send my Ph.D. application. Guess application for what: Physics.
Guys you can't want to rule the world and be completely outside of it!
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It is neither bad nor good per se, but it explains why Ph.D. don't stay.If the US is really interested in keeping foreign Ph.D. students they should change this policy, if they are interested in preserving "national integrity" they should continue this way, it is simply a matter of which policy they want to pursue, there is no moral judgment involved.
From a foreign Ph.D. student perspective it is pretty clear that we are merely tolerated in the US, and there is no interest in keeping us. Capping the number of H1-B visas and making the visa and green card application process a nightmare is a clear indication of the lack of interest from the US government (or probably the US public opinion) in retaining highly educated and skilled professionals. We clearly feel unwanted, unappreciated and tolerated as an "evil" necessity by the general population. We are given much less consideration and opportunities in comparison to our US-born colleagues, often regardless of merit (see the admission statistics of US/nonUS nationals for HOT Ph.D. areas such as biomedical engineering). Anyone that has an even decent opportunity in his country of origin (or continent of origin for Europeans) will definitely go beck unless they have political or ethical issues with their home country.
Oh yeah, Paper. That is great... Last time i was in the US, I had to put a US sheet of paper (letter i guess? 9x11 Inches probably?) in an A4 (21x 29.7 cm or the 4 folding of an A0 sheet of paper if you prefer like that) envelope I carried from Italy.... and guess what, it doesn't fit, so I spent a couple of hours photocopying all the material I carried from italy in 9x11 format, and only then I was able to send my Ph.D. application. Guess application for what: Physics. Guys you can't want to rule the world and be completely outside of it!