Billionaire investor Ken Griffin has warned that some of the brightest students from countries like India might never make it to the US and that this could hurt the country’s future. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the Citadel CEO said the real loss isn’t the $100,000 cost of an H-1B visa, but it’s when a talented student in India or a math and physics prodigy in China chooses to stay home instead of coming to the US.
US risks losing brilliant Indian students
“Fortunately, we’re in a sector of the economy where a $100,000 one-time cost to hire a person is not going to be make it or break it,” Griffin said. “I worry far more about the brilliant student in India who doesn’t come to America, or the gifted student in mathematics and physics that chooses to stay in China.”
With Donald Trump returning to the White House earlier this year, the US has seen a lot of policy changes, including aggressive ICE raids, stricter immigration rules, deportations, and growing visa challenges. Recently, Trump signed an executive order imposing a hefty fee on companies hiring H-1B visa holders, which is expected to dramatically limit the number of foreign workers taking jobs in the US.
The administration is ensuring that companies prioritise hiring Americans over foreign workers. Trump has also tightened student visa policies. The administration recently issued a memo to nine universities that allows only 5 percent of students from each country while capping international students at 15 percent, among other restrictions.
These changes have caused serious concerns about the future of sectors like tech and healthcare, which rely heavily on foreign-skilled workers, primarily from India and China, as well as international students who come to the US to study and build their careers.
Foreign students should get US visa and degree
Back in May, the Republican mega-donor Griffin said the US should hand out visas to foreign students graduating from American universities. “The key is that they need to stay here,” Griffin told an audience at the Milken Institute Global Conference. “It should literally be if you graduate from one of America’s great universities or graduate schools, you just get a visa stamp to your degree. Welcome to America. Stay here and build your career.”
Speaking alongside Michael Milken during the annual gathering of investors and corporate leaders in Beverly Hills, Griffin asked the audience to raise their hands if they or their parents came from outside the US. He praised those who leave their home countries to pursue a better life in America. At the time, Griffin called it “a huge statement about the great determination that you have.”
Griffin said that the US is dealing with one of the major challenges, which is slowing economic growth. The Citadel founder also pointed out that many lawmakers privately support retaining more international students after training, but the US fails to implement policies to make it happen.
“That one befuddles me,” Griffin said. “If I meet with members of the House or Senate, they almost always agree with that statement. I do not understand our unwillingness to embrace a path to citizenship for those who come here for their education.”
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Griffin described current US fiscal and monetary policies as unusually ‘stimulative,’ almost like what you see during a recession. “We’re definitely on a bit of a sugar high in the US economy right now,” he said.