High-Skilled Immigration Resources

Editor’s note

This resource page was established on September 25th, 2024 and last updated on September 26th, 2024.

This is a repository of resource materials about underutilized immigration pathways for high-skilled STEM professionals and the government policies governing such pathways. IFP’s high-skilled immigration team produces policy articles and white papers that are available on the team’s home page. But the team also produces other materials — letters, one-pagers, explanatory materials, and more — that we want to make publicly available. 

If you’re curious about American high-skilled immigration policy, you may find some of these resources handy. Many of these resources may also be useful for international STEM experts exploring the best pathway for themselves, or for their employers, lawyers, or university. 

Below, you will find:

1. Correspondence with the government — Letters for government consideration concerning policy matters related to international STEM talent.
2. Informational and instructional materials — Documents about the O-1A extraordinary ability visa classification, the J-1 STEM Initiative for researchers at companies, and considerations for higher education, science organizations, local consortia, and others interested in the role of high-skilled immigrants in innovation.

Please reach out to IFP’s high-skilled immigration team if you have any questions.

Correspondence with the government

• June 20, 2024. Joint letter to USCIS to update O-1A Policy Manual guidance
• June 3, 2024. Joint letter to DHS to nominate fields to the DHS STEM List
• May 13, 2024. IFP’s submission to DOL’s Request for Information regarding modernizing the Schedule A List
• December 22, 2023. IFP’s comment to USCIS’s proposed rulemaking on modernizing H-1B requirements
• December 21, 2023. Joint letter urging USCIS to avoid a specialty occupation definition that would significantly narrow eligibility for H-1Bs
• June 28, 2023. Joint letter requesting Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su update Schedule A
• November 17, 2023. Joint letter to DOS and DHS urging extension of interview waiver authorities
• February 2, 2022. Joint letter to DHS to suggest procedural changes to international entrepreneur parole

Informational and instructional materials on high-skilled immigration

• October 2, 2024. How J-1 researchers can support U.S. companies in the STEM ecosystem. This guide introduces the J-1 STEM Research Initiative, which permits foreign-born STEM professionals engaged in R&D to reside in the United States for up to five years, and describes how these researchers can be placed at U.S. companies to conduct research activities.
• September 3, 2024. Guide to the O-1A for STEM Researchers In the National Security Innovation Base. This guide is intended to explain when researchers across the national security innovation base can qualify for the O-1A extraordinary ability visa category. The guide also lays out what the O-1A category is, the eligibility criteria, examples of achievements that would qualify, examples of what goes into successful petitions, and more.
• July 24, 2024. Biden Administration’s actions on international STEM talent. This table summarizes select actions taken by the Biden administration to policies and regulations that benefit international advanced STEM degree holders in the United States. These changes include explaining how STEM PhDs can qualify for an O-1A visa, explaining how advanced STEM degree professionals could take advantage of the National Interest Waiver when applying for an employment-based green card, modernizing and enhancing the integrity of the H-1B program, updating the Designated Degree Program List for STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) extensions, and more.
• July 12, 2024. Explaining New Guidance on National Interest Waivers. This piece explains the new 2022 guidance concerning the NIW for immigrants holding advanced STEM degrees and lays out an updated approach to NIW petitions that immigration lawyers have found successful.
• April 22, 2024. How Institutions of Higher Education Can Help International Students and Scholars Navigate the Immigration System. This writeup explains the legal framework for STEM immigration, and provides three practical steps that institutions of higher education can take that make concrete improvements in documenting recognition and accomplishments for early career scientists.
• March 25, 2024. Opportunity for Universities to Accelerate Economic Development with the J-1 STEM Research Initiative. This document explains how universities can develop a J-1 demonstration project that places J-1 researchers at local companies through the J-1 STEM Research Initiative, which is especially useful for university-based spin-out companies.
• December 12, 2023. Using Existing International Stem Talent Policies to Advance U.S. Industrial Policy in Technology and Innovation Hubs. This document explains how new tech and innovation hubs can encourage their members — including research organizations, businesses, and universities — to explore opportunities through STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT), O-1A visas, and J-1 STEM researcher visas.
• November 6, 2023. The Role of Professional Science Societies and Scholarly Publications in Obtaining Immigration Benefits. How scholarly publications are judged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators, including three ways that professional science societies can help their international members strengthen their portfolios before applying for an O-1A visa.