US researchers voice concern over brain drain

US researchers have shown that increasing numbers of patents filed in the US are filed by foreign nationals. But the team is worried that tight visa restrictions is not allowing these inventors to stay in the US. 'The US is setting the stage for a massive reverse brain-drain....

US researchers have shown that increasing numbers of patents filed in the US are filed by foreign nationals. But the team is worried that tight visa restrictions is not allowing these inventors to stay in the US.

'The US is setting the stage for a massive reverse brain-drain. If we wait five years for immigration reform, the illegal and unskilled will still be here, but those that contribute significantly to US competitiveness will be long gone,' says US researcher Vivek Wadhwa, who has just concluded a study on international patent findings.

Dr Wadhwa from Duke University, along with colleagues from Harvard and New York Universities, created a database of inventors who filed patent applications with the World Intellectual Property Organisation between 1998 and 2006. The results showed a tripling in patents filed by foreigners living in the US over the past decade. But the team is concerned that restrictions on permanent visas are forcing many of these entrepreneurs to pack up and leave the US.

'We've brought in highly skilled people and given them a training in American business and marketing savvy, and then we force them to go back home and start competing,' says Dr Wadhwa. 'Companies lose talent, and workers are resentful and angry. It's a lose-lose situation.'

The study found that 7.3% of WIPO patents filed in 1998 were filed by foreign nationals. By 2006, the figure had more than tripled to 24.2%.

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