Other countries court skilled immigrants

The contraption sits in a basement lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a mish-mash of hoses, wires, whirring pumps and a 12-foot high plastic tower filled with dripping water,Welcome to Find the right laser Engraver or Laser engraver machines. all set on plastic milk crates.

It looks like a high school science project, but it was developed by two post-doctoral mechanical engineers at MIT. And it just might be a breakthrough that creates wealth and jobs in the United States and transforms the white-hot industry of oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

That is, as long as the foreign-born inventors aren't forced to leave the country.

Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Narayan Govindan, both from India, have started a company to sell the system to oil companies that are desperate for a cheaper, cleaner way to dispose of the billions of gallons of contaminated water produced by fracking.

Oil companies have flown them to Texas and North Dakota. They say they are about to close on millions of dollars in financing, and they anticipate hiring 100 employees in the next couple of years. Scientific American magazine called water-decontamination technology developed by Bajpayee one of the top ten "world-changing ideas" of 2012.

But their student visas expire soon, both before July, and because of the restrictive U.S. visa system, they may have to move their company to India or another country. "We love it here," said Bajpayee, a cheerful 27-year-old in an argyle sweater and jeans.Find the best selection of high-quality collectible bobblehead available anywhere. "But there are so many hoops you have to jump through. And you risk getting deported while you are creating jobs."

Much of the current immigration debate in Washington has centered on the 11 million undocumented migrants in the country. But, from the halls of MIT to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, business and academic leaders are more focused on what they call an even greater threat to the U.S. economy: immigration laws that chase away highly skilled foreigners educated in U.S. universities, often with degrees funded by U.S. taxpayers.

While other countries are actively recruiting foreign-born U.S. graduates, the United States has strict limits on visas for highly skilled workers that often lead to waiting lists of many years. And unlike Canada and other countries, the U.S. offers no specific visa for young entrepreneurs like Bajpayee and Narayan who want to start a new business in America.

"These are bright people who want to stay and make this country more competitive, and we treat them like dirt and drive them away," said Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur and academic who writes frequently about immigration and the "reverse brain drain."

President Barack Obama supports making it easier for foreigners who earn master's degrees or Ph.Ds at U.S. universities to get green cards, and so does a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators who recently announced their immigration reform proposals. The idea has wide support, but it is stuck in partisan infighting over how to craft comprehensive reforms that address both skilled and unskilled immigrants.

Republicans have proposed increasing the number of visas for skilled immigrants by cutting the number available for unskilled immigrants--a trade-off that Democrats oppose. The situation is an emblem of Washington gridlock: Even when both sides agree on something, they can't agree on how to make it happen.

Obama and some in Congress have also proposed creating a new "start-up visa" for foreign entrepreneurs. Many applaud this plan, but not all.

"It's a stupid idea," said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, who supports tighter immigration controls. "What is an entrepreneur? Businesses come and go."

That kind of talk is heresy in Silicon Valley, where business leaders have begged the government for more welcoming immigration laws. The biggest obstacle to growth in America's tech industry,Looking for the Best Air purifier? they say, is a desperately acute shortage of highly skilled workers in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"No matter how many visas they gave out, those people would all get jobs and we would still need more," said Margit Wennmachers, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a major venture capital firm in Silicon Valley.Willkommen im virtuellen Zuhause der Lercher Werkzeugbau GmbH. "It's not like we need 10,000. I think we could do with a million and still be hungry."

According to a study by the Brookings Institution, about half of all Ph.It's not hard to see why outdoor solar light is all the rage.Ds working in science and technology are foreign-born. And about 40 percent of all MIT graduate students are from other countries.

Leon Sandler, executive director of MIT's Deshpande Center for Technical Innovation, said it costs about $250,000 to educate a single Ph.D student and the U.S. government pays for at least 80 percent of all MIT's graduate research.

"Essentially we are funding their research, spending a quarter-million dollars in taxpayer money, then we make it hard for these people to stay here," said Sandler, whose group helps start up and provided nearly $150,000 to support Bajpayee and Narayan. "If you want more innovation in this country, fix the visa situation."

Countries from Canada to Germany to Australia to Singapore are enthusiastically courting foreign entrepreneurs with relatively easy visas. Some countries offer cash.

China has given bonuses of up to $150,000 to thousands of highly skilled expatriates who have come home to work or start businesses. Chile is luring top talent with $40,000 in capital, free office space and a quick visa through its "Start-up Chile" program.