International Students
Although they account for just five percent of all students in U.S. colleges and universities, international students play an important role in our economy. They gravitate towards the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, producing a large number of patents and gaining skills that help our employers innovate and compete. They spend tens of billions of dollars as consumers, supporting local businesses. And the companies they go on to found—such as Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia—employ hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.
Houston Chronicle Opinion: Texas has a nursing shortage. Don’t prevent me from becoming one.
As a freshman at Texas Woman’s University, I’m working toward my dream of becoming a nurse. I hope to give compassionate care to Texans and also help address the state’s nursing shortage because of a growing demand for nurses and lack… Read More
Dallas News Opinion: Beyond the wall: Why fewer foreign students are coming to Texas
The fallout from the immigration debate doesn’t end at the border wall. President Donald Trump’s words and policies are affecting legal immigration, too, and the consequences are evident at U.S. universities. Last year, applications to graduate programs from international students declined for the second year in… Read More
Austin American Statesman Commentary: Repeal would hurt all Texans, not just undocumented like me
As a student teacher at several Austin middle schools, I like seeing how excited my Hispanic students are to have a teacher who looks like them. I want my presence in the classroom to inspire young people from all backgrounds – including undocumented immigrants like me – and demonstrate… Read More
Trailer for Mahira Patkovich: A Refugee Rises
Meet Mahira Patkovich. Mahira’s family fled Bosnia and resettled in Utica, NY. She’s helping to revitalize downtown as a successful business owner, an MBA candidate and a mother to be. Watch her journey as she comes to call Utica home.
Mahira Patkovich: A Refugee Rises
Meet Mahira Patkovich. Mahira’s family fled Bosnia and resettled in Utica, NY, which experienced a major slump in the 80s and 90s. Today Mahira is helping to revitalize downtown as a successful business owner. She’s also working towards her MBA and expecting her first child to be born in… Read More
Free Times Opinion: Sound Off: It’s Time to Protect South Carolina’s Dreamers
With the government shutdown continuing, pundits are asking whetherPresident Trump might resurrect a deal that came tantalizingly close last year: reopening the government and funding a border wall in exchange for protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, the… Read More
Louisville-Based College President Applauds City’s Commitment to Diversity, International Students
Only 750 of the 12,000 students at Louisville’s Jefferson Community and Technical College are foreign-born, but college president Dr. Ty Handy calls them an inspiration. “Our international student population is absolutely an example to our other students,” he says. “Their retention rates, GPA exceed our institutional averages. They know… Read More
Polish Immigrant Gives Back to Community that Welcomed Her
By the time she moved to Fort Wayne in 1998, Polish native Ewelina Connolly had already visited the city several times with the dance troupe in which she performed. On one of these trips, she fell in love with an American. But when they decided to marry, Connolly faced a… Read More
Mexican Immigrant and Community Leader Appointed to Indiana Statewide Commission
The youngest of three in the Galindo family and at the age of 15, Palermo Galindo left behind Mexico— with his mother’s blessing—in search of greater opportunities in the United States. He joined his father, who was already living and working as a land surveyor in San Antonio, but the… Read More
Afghan Immigrant Studies to Become a Professor While Serving Her Community Along the Way
When 12-year-old Sophia Aimen Sexton lived in Pakistan as a refugee after fleeing Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War, she watched a lot of Clint Eastwood movies. “I thought when we arrived in America, they would give me a horse and I’d be a cowgirl in the desert,” recalls Sexton. The reality was much different. In 1983, when Sexton’s family was resettled… Read More
Fueling the Economy
About 18.5 million foreign-born students study at American colleges and universities. In addition to their academic and cultural contributions, they support the economies of college communities through tuition payments and spending on housing, books, and other day-to-day expenses.1
Sources:
1 “NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool | NAFSA,” accessed June 28, 2016. Available online.
Innovating for the Future
International STEM students and graduates are behind some of America’s most impressive innovations, from artificial skin to moldable metal. Studies show that immigrants with an advanced degree are three times more likely than U.S.-born graduate degree holders to file a patent.2 When universities increase their share of international students, they often receive more patents—boosting revenue and creating more opportunities for all students.
Sources:
2 Jennifer Hunt and Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, “How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?,” NBER Working Paper, (September 2008). Available online.
3 Chellaraj, Gnanaraj, Keith E. Maskus, and Aaditya Mattoo. 2005. “The Contribution of Skilled Immigration and International Graduate Students to US Innovation.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (3588). Retrieved November 10, 2014. Available online.
Share of Patents Awarded to Research Institutions with at Least One Foreign-Born Inventor, 2011
From Graduates to Entrepreneurs
The inventions of foreign-born students often do more than just earn patents. They spawn start-ups and new divisions of companies that create jobs for American workers. Foreign-born students at American schools founded companies like Sun Microsystems (now a part of Oracle), Google, and Yahoo!.
Sources:
4 Edward B. Roberts, Fiona Murray, and J. Daniel Kim, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation at MIT: Continuing Global Growth and Impact” (MIT Innovation Initiative, December 2015). Available online.
5 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Boosting State Economies
In 2015, the large number of international students in both New York and California generated close to $4 billion in revenue for each state. In eight states, foreign-born students generated revenues in excess of $1 billion—supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
States where International Students Make the Largest Economic Impact
Educating the Next Generation
Foreign-born professionals play a large role in educating American students. In 22 states, the occupation “postsecondary teacher” ranks among the top 10 jobs in which immigrants make up the largest share of workers. In six of those states, that role ranks among the top three jobs most heavily reliant on immigrants.
States with the Highest Share of Immigrant Postsecondary Teachers, 2014
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
