Title : Immigration of Scientists and Engineers Increased Slightly in 1993, Despite Decline in Immigration Overall Type : 1995 Data Briefs NSF Org: SBE / SRS Date : August 11, 1995 File : sdb95327 Note: The companion binary file to this text file is an Adobe Acrobat .PDF (Portable Document Format) file. In order to view and print this file, you must use the Adobe Acrobate Reader. The Acrobat reader is available from Adobe via Ftp. Ftp to ftp.adobe.com anonymous <------User email name <------Password Change the directory to: pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/Windows <----Windows reader or pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/mcintosh <----MacIntosh reader or pub/adobe/applications/acrobat/unix <----Unix reader Download the relevant Acrobat Reader file, entitled ACROREAD.EXE. You may freely distribute the reader program. by Joanne P. Streeter ___________________ Despite an overall decline in immigration to the United States in 1993, the admission of scientists and engineers continued to rise, with women representing 21.3 percent of the total admitted with permanent resident status. _______________________ Despite an overall decline in immigration to the United States in 1993, the admission of scientists and engineers (S&Es) continued to rise. According to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) data,1/ 23,534 S&Es were admitted to the United States on permanent visas in 1993, representing a 3.1-percent increase over S&E immigration in 1992. This increase follows the large jump in admissions in 1992 totaling 22,870, 62 percent higher than S&E immigration in 1991 (14,100). The total immigration to the United States in 1993 is estimated at 904,292, thus S&Es constituted 2.6 percent of the total. Characteristics of Immigrant Scientists and Engineers S&Es employed in science occupations 2/ represented 38.6 percent of 1993 S&E immigration, with mathematical scientists and computer specialists accounting for nearly half of scientists admitted. Engineers made up 61.6 percent of the total in 1993. Women represented 21.3 percent of S&Es admitted to the United States with permanent resident status in 1993, with 5,020 women S&Es being admitted. Chart 1, using INS data for 1989 to 1993, shows that the number, as well as the proportion, of women immigrating to the United States has been consistently increasing over time. (Chart 1., Scientists and engineers admitted to the United States on permanent visas, by fiscal year of admission and sex: 1989-93, appears here in printed and Acrobat versions) In 1993 57.9 percent of all S&Es admitted were from the Far East. China was reported as country of birth by 20.4 percent of all S&E immigrants, and India was reported by another 17.5 percent of those admitted. Immigration from these two countries accounted for 37.9 percent of all S&E immigration, showing an increase from 1992, when 29.2 percent of all immigrant S&Es reported either India or China as their country of birth. INS data for previous years show that immigrants from the Far East have constituted a large and growing proportion of all S&E immigration. Prior to 1991 most S&E immigrants in a given year were new arrivals; a minority were already in the United States and had their resident status adjusted from temporary to permanent. Data for 1991 show proportions of both new arrivals and adjustment-of-status cases to be roughly equal, whereas in 1992 adjustment-of-status cases increased to 65 percent of S&E immigration. This trend continued in 1993, with 68.5 percent of all S&E immigration resulting from adjustment-of-status cases. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 In the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, Congress enacted the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992, permitting Chinese nationals temporarily residing in the United States to adjust to permanent resident status. Under the provisions of this act, 1,403 S&Es were admitted in 1993 (chart 2). These S&Es are included in the 1993 total S&E immigration of 23,534. Also admitted under the act were 654 technologists and technicians. Further adjustment-of-status cases resulting from this act will be reflected in 1994 immigration because not all applications were submitted and processed in 1993. (Chart 2., Scientists, engineers, technologists, and technicians admitted to the United States on permanent visas under the Chinese Student Protection Act, by occupation and sex: 1993, appears here in printed and Acrobat versions) Immigrant Technologists and Technicians in 1993 The INS data show that 10,234 technologists and technicians were admitted to the United States as legal permanent residents in 1993, 26.5 percent more than in 1992. This number had been fairly constant at approximately 6,000 from 1988 through 1990. A third of all technologists and technicians admitted to the United States were women. Compared with S&E admissions in 1993, technologists and technicians were more likely to be new arrivals, with 44.2 percent being adjustment-of-status cases. This Data Brief was prepared by Joanne P. Streeter, Division of Science Resources Studies, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230. For free printed copies of SRS Data Briefs, write to the above address, call 703-306-1773, or send e-mail to databrief@nsf.gov. Footnotes: 1/ INS, 1993 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Immigrant Public Use data files. 2/ "Occupation" as reported in INS data refers to the employment held in the country of last or legal residence or in the United States. For an alien with a labor certification, occupation is the employment for which certification has been issued. Note that these definitions of S&Es do not directly correspond with those used in other NSF surveys of S&Es. --end--