Science Policy Research Report: Student Visa Policy and the Scientific Workforce

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Students from around the world come to the U.S. to enroll in colleges and universities at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Many of the students from abroad enrolling at U.S. colleges and universities enter on F-1 student visas, with 644,233 F-1 visas awarded in 2015. The optimal design of student visa policy depends on the measurement of costs and benefits, recognizing that these effects may differ by degree level or area of study. Key empirical questions that inform policy evaluation related to student visas include: How do foreign students affect the educational outcomes of native students, particularly in scientific disciplines? Do students from abroad who study in the U.S. persist in the U.S. labor market? What are the contributions to innovation and economic growth generated by foreign-born students who receive degrees in the U.S. and persist in the U.S. scientific labor market? This research report provides a rich descriptive picture of the distribution of students from abroad enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities on F-1 visas by country of origin and program of study over time. The primary data source informing this analysis is the universe of F-1 visa recipients (2004-2015). These data, which are from administrative records, include over 5 million records at the individual level and identifies each student?s intended degree, subject of study, post-secondary institution in the U.S., city and country of origin, along with variables indicating cost of attendance, financial support, beginning-end dates, and whether the student pursued OPT. The report aligns these data with the existing social science research evidence on international student flows to U.S. higher education and the scientific labor market. Beyond synthesizing available evidence, this report identifies some of the challenges of measurement. Overall, this research report provides a comprehensive framework for discussions of student visa policy, an inventory of existing policy evidence, a roadmap for future data needs.