Perspective Piece, Opinion (Part 1 of 2)
While I debated devoting this post to covering online resources and tips as most of the world continues to try to work remotely in response to COVID-19, I have come to realize this crisis has laid bare the unique challenges of one highly-trained and often exploited population in particular. Those individuals are international researchers working under temporary visas in the United States (US). The group encompasses international graduate students and postdocs as well as those working at for-profit companies under H-1B visas.
As this is a complex topic, I have divided it into two posts, to occur over the next two weeks.
First, we'll focus on international researchers in academia.
International Trainees in Uncertain Times
As this is a complex topic, I have divided it into two posts, to occur over the next two weeks.
First, we'll focus on international researchers in academia.
International Trainees in Uncertain Times
While Canada has taken action to better support some of their international trainee population during this challenging time, the current US administration has been taking steps to curb immigration and many international graduate students and postdocs are nervous about the uncertainty of their future working in the US. Indeed, reports indicate companies are moving some of their visa workforce hiring to Canada. The Canadian government's Express Entry immigration program (including the Skilled Worker pathway) and goal of adding 1,000,000 new permanent residents by end of 2021 will undoubtedly accelerate this trend.
| And while I don't have the first-person perspective of an international researcher working in the US, I do interact with many of these individuals in my current work in postdoctoral affairs at NC State University where ~50% of our postdocs have countries of origin outside the US. I empathize with the unique challenges international students and postdocs encounter trying to work in the US while admitting I can never fully know what it is like being them. I am certainly not the first person to write about international graduate students and postdocs and the unique challenges they face. Here, though, I want to present my and other's perspectives on international temporary workers, including: |  |
- the value they bring to research and innovation efforts,
- the stress they put on labor markets, and
- how more transparency and data regarding their experiences and outcomes can help guide policies to support all advanced degree trainees.
International Researchers Have a Profound Effect on US Academic Institution
| International trainees have a large economic and productivity effect on the academic research labor force and higher education (including contributing tuition dollars) in the US, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the so-called "STEM" fields; see). Many have argued about the need to recruit these highly-trained researchers from other countries to the US. This thesis is based on the notion that the US has a deficit in STEM graduates and thus needs to import labor with that expertise, though whether such a deficit exists is not a straightforward state to measure and has been debated (see also). Indeed, some data indicate Ph.D.-holding US citizens employed in science and engineering has decreased over the period of 1973 to 1991 relative to non-citizens, which is at least partially explained by displacement of citizens with non-citizens within the advanced-degree STEM workforce. The US is a country of immigrants and it is an important component of American identity. Clearly, we as a country are stronger because of our diversity. |  Read more about this motto of the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum |
This is supported by important work showing the impact traditionally under-represented groups, including international trainees, have on scientific innovation and productivity. Other data indicate that non-English/European/domestic graduate students and postdocs authored nearly 59% and 54% of first-author publications, respectively, in the prestigious journal Science from November 2007 to May 2008. And there is data showing immigrants to the US are more entrepreneurial and innovative, contributing disproportionately to STEM research breakthroughs. Amazingly, 39% of US Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, medicine, and physics since 2000 were immigrants.
 Top countries of origin of temporary visa-holding PhD recipients in US in 2018: China (36.1%), India (11.9%), South Korea (6.0%), Iran (5.5%) | 1/3 of Ph.D.s from US institutions are not citizens...17,500 people in 2018! Stay rates of Ph.D.s in US hover around 70% ~14% of the ENTIRE US scientific & engineering workforce with Ph.D.s are not US citizens >50% of US postdocs are temporary visa holders |
International Trainees by the Number
In the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) conducted in 2017 (the most currently available data), ~14% of the ENTIRE science and engineering US-earned doctorate workforce is occupied by non-US citizens (permanent or temporary residents). This percentage is nearly 28% in computer and information science fields and ~24% in engineering fields. Temporary residents on "student" F-1, "exchange visitor" J-1, or "worker" H-1B visas represent about a 1/3rd of that population, translating to over 36,000 individuals across all science and engineering sectors reporting in 2017.
Approximately 1/3rd of US doctorate (Ph.D.) recipients reported to the NSF in its 2018 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) were not US citizens...over 17,500 individuals. While many leave the US for employment, the majority do not intend to.
NSF's 2018 SED data reports ~72% of temporary visa holding Ph.D. recipients intend to stay in the US after they receive their degree. And this number has remained quite stable since 2012, averaging between 70% and 74%. Furthermore, 5 and 10-year stay rates from doctorate recipients in 2005 & 2010 range between 66% and 76% in science and engineering fields.
NSF's 2018 SED data reports ~72% of temporary visa holding Ph.D. recipients intend to stay in the US after they receive their degree. And this number has remained quite stable since 2012, averaging between 70% and 74%. Furthermore, 5 and 10-year stay rates from doctorate recipients in 2005 & 2010 range between 66% and 76% in science and engineering fields.
Many recently graduated international Ph.D. students take positions as postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) in the US. In fact, starting in the mid-1990s the percentage of postdocs who were temporary visa holders surpassed those who were US citizens or permanent residents.
In the mid-1990s the percentage of the U.S. postdoctoral population that were held by temporary visa holders surpassed that of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Source: NSF GSS survey data, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/
Why Postdoc? Career Prospects of International Graduate Students are Limited
Do more international students pursue a postdoc than their domestic peers? Or are the temporary visa holding postdoc numbers driven by the many internationally-trained individuals who come to the US to postdoc? Data from the NSF SED, see below figure, suggest that traditionally more temporary visa holders pursue a postdoc after completing their Ph.D. in the US.
After earning their Ph.D. in the US, temporary visa holders consistently pursue postdoctoral employment at higher rates than US citizens or permanent residents, though the gap has narrowed. Source: NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates 2018, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/
In addition, one study found that the status of "temporary resident" was the strongest predictor of which US Ph.D.s pursued a postdoc within 3 years of completing their terminal degree. A variety of conditions exist to push international students on temporary visas into postdocs. Part of this is due to a systematic arrangement that allows non-profits and universities to employ an essentially infinite number of international trainees as they can access a "cap-exempt" H-1B visa pool unavailable to for-profit companies. Most international postdocs in the US are sponsored on "student" F-1, "exchange visitor" J-1, or worker H-1B visas, all of which are contingent on the visa-holder maintaining a specific status in order to continue to study and work in the US. As a postdoctoral position is both employment and training, this diverse group of visa types are available to this workforce allowing more paths to employing temporary visa holders as postdocs.
A working paper from George Borjas at the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that "a 10% increase in immigration-induced supply of doctorate recipients lowers the wage of competing workers by 3-4%, with about half of this adverse wage effect being attributed to the increased prevalence of low-pay postdoctoral positions." Indeed pursing a postdoc in general has been associated with lower initial and lifetime earnings though it is often an essential training step for those pursuing faculty positions and can be useful for one's career advancement.
By design, a postdoctoral position is both research and training and, as such, postdoc compensation has, historically, been low (see MD residents versus attending MDs as a somewhat comparable example). However, international postdocs often face even lower salaries. A Sigma Xi postdoc survey published in 2005 found temporary visa holding postdocs had a salary that was, on average, $2,000 lower than the median postdoc salary of $38,000. This data suggest international postdoc salaries could be ~5% lower than their peers.
A working paper from George Borjas at the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that "a 10% increase in immigration-induced supply of doctorate recipients lowers the wage of competing workers by 3-4%, with about half of this adverse wage effect being attributed to the increased prevalence of low-pay postdoctoral positions." Indeed pursing a postdoc in general has been associated with lower initial and lifetime earnings though it is often an essential training step for those pursuing faculty positions and can be useful for one's career advancement.
By design, a postdoctoral position is both research and training and, as such, postdoc compensation has, historically, been low (see MD residents versus attending MDs as a somewhat comparable example). However, international postdocs often face even lower salaries. A Sigma Xi postdoc survey published in 2005 found temporary visa holding postdocs had a salary that was, on average, $2,000 lower than the median postdoc salary of $38,000. This data suggest international postdoc salaries could be ~5% lower than their peers.
| This salary discount is potentially the result of postdocs on temporary visas accepting lower "market" rates for their positions, which may potentially deflate postdoc pay across the system. Indeed, work by Xiaohuan Lan at the University of Virginia reports that a 1% increase in the share of temporary immigrants among new Ph.D.s decreases the relative wage of native postdocs to non-postdocs by 0.9-2%. As more temporary visa holders with Ph.D.s enter the system, they inflate the postdoc labor pool "supply" and decrease potential postdoc wages. |  |
Many of these visa-holding individuals would not pursue a postdoc if their visa status was more permanent. Lan also showed that holding a permanent visa decreases the probability of postdoctoral participation relative to temporary visa holders by 24%. This is evidence that the temporary visa system, specifically the availability of more temporary visa types and "cap-exempt" H-1B visas in academic institutions, pushes non-citizen Ph.D.s into postdoc positions that are easier to obtain under the current system.
These data suggest visa policy changes could play a role in decreasing the number of postdoctoral positions as well as increasing the wage of all US postdocs.
Certainly required minimum postdoc salaries and initiatives that have prompted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to consistently increase its NRSA postdoc stipend level (a common benchmark for postdoc salaries) are reducing salary inequities among postdocs. However, since these are suggested (for trainees not funded via NRSAs) or minimum (as determined by each university) salary levels, the degree to which compensation inequities exist between international and domestic postdocs remains largely unknown.
Certainly required minimum postdoc salaries and initiatives that have prompted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to consistently increase its NRSA postdoc stipend level (a common benchmark for postdoc salaries) are reducing salary inequities among postdocs. However, since these are suggested (for trainees not funded via NRSAs) or minimum (as determined by each university) salary levels, the degree to which compensation inequities exist between international and domestic postdocs remains largely unknown.
International Trainees at Academic Institutions are Especially Vulnerable
While pursuing a graduate degree and postdoctoral work is an inherently stressful experience with known mental health effects on many, international trainees face specific and unique challenges.
It is important to emphasize there exists a power dynamic in any academic research lab where the supervisor/principal investigator controls the fate of their trainees (by providing letters of recommendation, mentorship experiences, funding, etc...), which includes graduate students and postdocs. This dynamic can be even more imbalanced when the trainees are international and on either student or work visas. In fact, it crosses the line to exploitation more often than anyone in academia would like to admit.
It is important to emphasize there exists a power dynamic in any academic research lab where the supervisor/principal investigator controls the fate of their trainees (by providing letters of recommendation, mentorship experiences, funding, etc...), which includes graduate students and postdocs. This dynamic can be even more imbalanced when the trainees are international and on either student or work visas. In fact, it crosses the line to exploitation more often than anyone in academia would like to admit.
 | One may wonder why would a supervisor exploit young researchers trying to advance their careers? The fact that academic research is so pressure-filled doesn't help. Supervisors are normally faculty on the tenure-track trying to keep their own carers afloat. Some are still struggling to obtain tenure, others need that next grant to come through to pay a portion (or all of) their salaries or keep their lab open. It is not uncommon for postdocs, especially those on temporary visas, to report long work hours as they strive to support their lab's work. |
It is not surprising that employer-tied visas such as H-1Bs, and F-1 visas tied to being a graduate student in good standing can lead to extreme power imbalances in the visa holder-employer/student relationship. If you ability to stay in the US is contingent on being in good standing with your employer or institution, you probably won't complain about your working conditions. This is especially problematic in academic research settings but undoubtedly happens in other employment areas.
Another important point beyond the scope of this piece is that individuals who are not US citizens or permanent residents are ineligible for applying for research grant funding from most federal agencies (but see this list of agencies supporting non-citizen researchers). This prevents international postdocs wishing to remain in the US from obtaining a research funding track record needed for most faculty positions at R1 universities.
The plight of international researchers reflects a systematic problem: academic research and career advancement is under-supported.
The plight of international researchers reflects a systematic problem: academic research and career advancement is under-supported.
The H-1B Visa: Pathway to Opportunity or Tool to Consolidate Employer Power
At many US institutions, the postdoc position is a temporary one with limits on how long a person can be employed as a postdoc. So, what becomes of the large, international postdoctoral population after their postdoc positions end? The short answer is we don't really know as tracking postdoc outcomes has not been a priority at most institutions.
Given their limited work options within the US, though, international postdocs who wish to stay have few employment options. This most often means taking research-related positions at academic institutions with titles such as research associate, research scholar, or research assistant professor. And whether these positions represent career advancement from a postdoc is questionable. Some see these roles as means to skirt the term limit rules for postdoc positions (typically around 5 to 6 years, see) while others see a path toward professionalization of researcher roles for former postdocs (see also). Further tracking of postdoc outcomes and career progression is needed to support these arguments.
What we do know from data collected in a 2016 national postdoctoral survey is that "residency status in the U.S." is a significant predictor of postdocs' career choices. Clearly, the career paths open to temporary resident postdocs are different from their permanent resident or US citizen peers.
Given their limited work options within the US, though, international postdocs who wish to stay have few employment options. This most often means taking research-related positions at academic institutions with titles such as research associate, research scholar, or research assistant professor. And whether these positions represent career advancement from a postdoc is questionable. Some see these roles as means to skirt the term limit rules for postdoc positions (typically around 5 to 6 years, see) while others see a path toward professionalization of researcher roles for former postdocs (see also). Further tracking of postdoc outcomes and career progression is needed to support these arguments.
What we do know from data collected in a 2016 national postdoctoral survey is that "residency status in the U.S." is a significant predictor of postdocs' career choices. Clearly, the career paths open to temporary resident postdocs are different from their permanent resident or US citizen peers.
| The H-1B work visa is a common path to employment for advanced degree holders seeking to remain in the US. H-1B sponsored employees, including postdocs, must be paid the "prevailing wage" for their work area, level of expertise, and geographic location of work. However, this determination of prevailing wage is open to much interpretation. In fact, some have argued and data have shown that H-1B employees at for-profit companies make lower salaries than their peers and that this mechanism is used to, potentially, suppress wages for all employees. |  |
Currently there is a "cap" on H-1Bs granted each year to for-profit companies and a lottery is often used to allot the 85,000 visas available to advanced degree holders. The success rate of "winning" the lottery hovers around 25 to 35%. However, university and nonprofits are exempt from this cap. The current system, then, incentivizes advanced degree holders to continue working in a university or nonprofit setting on a "cap-exempt" H-1B visa if they want to remain in the United States. And many of these academic researcher positions are often underpaid and unstable given they are commonly supported by research grant funding.
So, the H-1B cap-exempt status of universities may contribute to the under-employment of international trainees, locking them into academic research support positions, especially given the low rates of these (and most Ph.D.-holding) individuals transitioning to more well-paid and stable tenure-track roles. Data from the US Department of Education show 3-3.5% of all tenure-track (Assistant Professors) and tenured professors (Associate or Full Professors) at US post-secondary institutions (universities and colleges) are not citizens or permanent residents. Looking just at the tenured professor population, the percent that are not US citizens/permanent residents is only ~1.4%. Obviously, there are various reasons for temporary researchers to not pursue a faculty position in the US from a desire to return to their home country to making the decision to not pursue a faculty route for employment in the US. However, for the international immigrant and temporary visa holding population to go from representing >50% of US postdocs to approximately 1.4% of tenured faculty and 6.5-7.0% of tenure-track faculty (definitely a better number in this younger population) at US institutions represents serious issues in career advancement that require further study and scrutiny.
So, the H-1B cap-exempt status of universities may contribute to the under-employment of international trainees, locking them into academic research support positions, especially given the low rates of these (and most Ph.D.-holding) individuals transitioning to more well-paid and stable tenure-track roles. Data from the US Department of Education show 3-3.5% of all tenure-track (Assistant Professors) and tenured professors (Associate or Full Professors) at US post-secondary institutions (universities and colleges) are not citizens or permanent residents. Looking just at the tenured professor population, the percent that are not US citizens/permanent residents is only ~1.4%. Obviously, there are various reasons for temporary researchers to not pursue a faculty position in the US from a desire to return to their home country to making the decision to not pursue a faculty route for employment in the US. However, for the international immigrant and temporary visa holding population to go from representing >50% of US postdocs to approximately 1.4% of tenured faculty and 6.5-7.0% of tenure-track faculty (definitely a better number in this younger population) at US institutions represents serious issues in career advancement that require further study and scrutiny.
Closing Thoughts: Complex Problems Have No Straightforward Solutions
Clearly, the visa landscape and its intersection with international trainees pursuing postdoctoral positions, their job prospects, and the effects on wages (more in Part 2) is quite complex. In no way is this piece suggesting that temporary visa holders are the problem. Rather, the system is set up in such a way as to limit opportunity for many advanced degree holders, especially temporary visa holders. These individuals often pursue postdocs and stay employed in various research roles (research associate, research assistant professor, etc...) because these roles are most accessible to them given the cap-exempt nature of H-1B visas for universities and non-profit organizations, among other factors.
The National Research Council laid out policy recommendations for international graduate students and postdocs in 2005 including further study on the effect these populations have on U.S. research productivity and innovation and the larger economy (i.e., the employment they pursue if they remain working in the US, or elsewhere).
Fifteen years after that report, while some studies, including those referenced in this piece, have been completed, MUCH remains unknown about the the international researcher population and whether it is a net positive or negative for the research enterprise. Some institutions have begun reporting outcomes data of their Ph.D. students & postdocs, which can in some cases be filtered by international status - see the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science initiative. But more outcomes tracking of the international trainee population in the US is needed, especially those who received their graduate degrees outside the country and pursued a postdoc in the US (as NSF's Survey of Doctorate Recipients and Survey of Earned Doctorates focus on US Ph.D. recipients only).
Fifteen years after that report, while some studies, including those referenced in this piece, have been completed, MUCH remains unknown about the the international researcher population and whether it is a net positive or negative for the research enterprise. Some institutions have begun reporting outcomes data of their Ph.D. students & postdocs, which can in some cases be filtered by international status - see the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science initiative. But more outcomes tracking of the international trainee population in the US is needed, especially those who received their graduate degrees outside the country and pursued a postdoc in the US (as NSF's Survey of Doctorate Recipients and Survey of Earned Doctorates focus on US Ph.D. recipients only).
Work that lays out career pathways & outcomes for trainees such as this one for biomedical Ph.D.s from ASCB are necessary moving forward. Source: https://www.ascb.org/careers/where-will-a-biology-phd-take-you/
Another challenge in supporting international researchers is allowing them to effectively transition from trainee (graduate student or postdoc) to stable employment.
In my opinion, we are doing these individuals a disservice by allowing them to come to our institutions within the US to train and then not being able to easily support them in their career transitions when the data suggest a vast majority (70%+) wish to stay and work in the US. Expecting the number of individuals we train each year to be able to secure one of the ~85,000 H-1B visas sponsored by a for-profit company (more on this in next week's post) seems irresponsible. And if a company has to enter a lottery for the ability to even hire someone on an H-1B, we dis-incentivize them from using the mechanism effectively.
Thus, the pathway remains heavily tilted toward temporary visa holders remaining to work in academic settings, often in contingent labor positions, as postdocs, research associates, research scholars, research assistant professors, lecturers, etc... These positions often lack the ability for career advancement and pay wages that are below market value for these highly-trained researchers. The system allows these positions to exist, though. Academia is not immune to the pull of cheap labor.
In these uncertain times, being an international trainee is even more problematic. Traveling back to one's home country is not even feasible at the moment with the restrictions in place due to COVID-19. How we as institutions respond to the challenges of this vulnerable population will, I believe, be telling of how we deal with the coming issue of supporting the vast number of advanced-degree holders we produce each year.
In my opinion, we are doing these individuals a disservice by allowing them to come to our institutions within the US to train and then not being able to easily support them in their career transitions when the data suggest a vast majority (70%+) wish to stay and work in the US. Expecting the number of individuals we train each year to be able to secure one of the ~85,000 H-1B visas sponsored by a for-profit company (more on this in next week's post) seems irresponsible. And if a company has to enter a lottery for the ability to even hire someone on an H-1B, we dis-incentivize them from using the mechanism effectively.
Thus, the pathway remains heavily tilted toward temporary visa holders remaining to work in academic settings, often in contingent labor positions, as postdocs, research associates, research scholars, research assistant professors, lecturers, etc... These positions often lack the ability for career advancement and pay wages that are below market value for these highly-trained researchers. The system allows these positions to exist, though. Academia is not immune to the pull of cheap labor.
In these uncertain times, being an international trainee is even more problematic. Traveling back to one's home country is not even feasible at the moment with the restrictions in place due to COVID-19. How we as institutions respond to the challenges of this vulnerable population will, I believe, be telling of how we deal with the coming issue of supporting the vast number of advanced-degree holders we produce each year.
Will we be bold and seek to make the difficult choices needed to sustain and support graduate education and postdoctoral training? Or will we continue to ignore the real challenges those we train face in securing meaningful employment? In the end, our trainees' outcomes will be the ultimate judgement of the "success" of our system. Through greater transparency and accountability, we can correct course, though, and fulfill our mission of advancing the lives of the students and postdocs from around the world who entrust their training to us.
MORE on H-1B Effects in For-Profit Companies and their Economic Impact Next Week
For further reading:
International Student Precarity in the Humanities Academy
International Students and COVID-19
International Student Precarity in the Humanities Academy
International Students and COVID-19
Permanent Visas and Temporary Jobs: Evidence from Postdoctoral Participation of Foreign PhDs in the United States
Choice of Country by the Foreign Born for PhD and Postdoctoral Study: a Sixteen-Country Perspective
Reports & Briefs on High Skill Immigration from the National Foundation for American Policy
The Future of the Postdoc
National Academies of Sciences. The Next Generation of Biomedical & Behavioral Sciences Researchers: Breaking Through Report
Choice of Country by the Foreign Born for PhD and Postdoctoral Study: a Sixteen-Country Perspective
Reports & Briefs on High Skill Immigration from the National Foundation for American Policy
The Future of the Postdoc
National Academies of Sciences. The Next Generation of Biomedical & Behavioral Sciences Researchers: Breaking Through Report
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