In an effort to retain the best foreign talent in the country, a bill has been introduced in the US Congress, which if passed, would give direct “permanent residency” to overseas PhD students, including from India.
As such, these foreign students would be exempted from applying for H-1B visas or other work visas to stay and work in the US. However, not all PhD would be eligible for the popular “Green Card”.
As per the bill introduced by Jeff Flake, Republican Congressman from Arizona, only those foreign nationals ha
ving completed PhDs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) would be eligible to directly apply.
If passed, the Stopping Trained in America PhDs from Leaving the Economy (STAPLE) Act (HR 1791), would end up benefiting the Indians and Chinese the most, as students from these two countries account for a majority of the PhD students in the US.
The bill also say that such PhD holders be exempted from the numerical quota of H-1B visas.