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

来自世界各地的学生来到美国，在本科和研究生水平的学院和大学注册。 许多来自国外的学生在美国学院和大学入学，获得F-1学生签证，2015年获得644，233份F-1签证。 学生签证政策的最佳设计取决于成本和收益的衡量，认识到这些影响可能因学位水平或学习领域而异。 为学生签证相关政策评估提供信息的关键实证问题包括：外国学生如何影响本地学生的教育成果，特别是在科学学科方面？在美国学习的外国学生在美国劳动力市场上坚持下去吗？在美国获得学位并坚持在美国科学劳动力市场工作的外国出生的学生对创新和经济增长的贡献是什么？ 这份研究报告提供了一个丰富的描述性图片的分布从国外就读于美国学院和大学的F-1签证的原籍国和学习计划随着时间的推移。 本分析的主要数据来源是F-1签证持有者的总体情况（2004-2015年）。 这些数据，这是从行政记录，包括超过500万条记录，在个人层面上，并确定每个学生？申请人的预期学位、学习科目、在美国的高等教育机构，该报告将这些数据与现有的关于国际学生流向美国高等教育和科学劳动力市场的社会科学研究证据相结合。 除了综合现有证据外，本报告还指出了计量方面的一些挑战。 总的来说，这份研究报告为学生签证政策的讨论提供了一个全面的框架，现有政策证据的清单，未来数据需求的路线图。

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.