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As reported by Reuters, Silicon Valley is experiencing a brain drain of foreign-born students, many of whom are returning to their home countries due to immigration hurdles. The very long waiting time for US permanent residency, combined with comparatively attractive job markets in India and China, is driving the trend.
Observers warn that the flow of foreign students out of the United States will eventually damage its high-tech industry competitiveness. More than half of the Silicon Valley start-up companies established between 1995 and 2005 had a founder who was a foreign national. In addition, foreign nationals earn half of the masters degrees and 71% of the doctorates in electrical engineering at US universities.