According to a recent study, an astounding 60 percent of the top science students in the US and 65 percent of the top math students are children of immigrants mainly from India and China. It says immigrants’ children are rising intellectual superstars and without them the nation's technological and scientific standing is at risk.

Foreign-born high school students make up 50 percent of the 2004 US Math Olympiad's top scorers
· 38 per cent of the US Physics Team 
· 25 percent of the Intel Science Talent Search finalists. 
· 50 percent of the engineers with PhDs working in the United States are foreign-born.
· 45 percent of math and computer scientists with PhDs as well as life scientists and physicists are foreign- born.

The NRIPulse.com survey question was- Is maintaining an open policy toward skilled professionals, international students, and legal immigration vital to America's technological and scientific standing in the world?

Check out what our Readers have to say... 

Wow, the numbers speak for themselves! One of the main reasons for the USA to be a world leader, is the environment it has maintained over the years, where talent from all over the world felt home here. The contributions of immigrants and their children have propelled the growth time and time again. Any policy to hinder the flow of talent to this country will be detrimental in long run. We need to raise the cap on H1-B visas in order to increase the number of key professionals. The media may be too focused on the competition aspect, which invariably follows with more talent available, but they seem to ignore the positive impact these foreign borns or the children of immigrants have over the overall standard of excellence in this country.
Dr Vijay Mehta, Temple, Texas

There is no competition between foreign born and locally born scientists and technologists because there is an overall shortage of such people in the US.
Ram Narayanan, USIndiafriendship.net

Can you publish some studies that indicate what this brain drain is doing to the countries from where the skilled labor is leaving? It took Ireland more than 3 generations to recoup from the losses of their out-migration. I suspect that there are studies that show how the migration to USA, UK, Australia, Canada and now to other Western countries impacts the countries where the out-migration takes place. If the purpose of these statistics is political and it is to show that the NRIs are good for USA, and it is to allow more Indians in the country, then the short sighted summary is well presented.
Closing the open door immigration policy would hurt the USA, but does keeping the policy hurt the underdeveloped nations even more?! We need more data before the community at large can take a stance.
Hunaid Qadir, Atlanta, Georgia

When I was in school & college in the US, I was good in Math and Science. I studied Electrical Engineering. But I still resented the assumption that all Indian people are obviously good in Math & Science. It did two things. First, it undermined my efforts and hard work - as if I had some natural access - it was only expected. It undermined other things that I was or could have been good at. It also made my friends of Indian origin who were not inclined towards Math & Science self-conscious - judging them to be not good enough. As if somehow it's our ONLY legacy or EVEN responsibility!
In India there was and is a lot of appreciation for technical knowledge. Those who excel in it are considered smarter. It used to have a higher earning potential and status. It also comes with a cost. We have forgotten the correlations. That mathematicians and scientists also used to be thinkers and philosophers. 
US and other countries do resent the fact that most of its scientific studies and knowledge are being pursued by many "smart foreigners." The US, which defines and prides itself to be a melting pot, still has a "Western/ European" complex when these "smart foreigners" are not European. They see the hold and role of technology in the future. They were worried about losing blue-collar jobs- but now white-collar jobs too? 
Of course, do we see how lop-sided the economies are in the countries where we are "losing these jobs?" If you don't want "too many" foreigners to come in and "take over" your jobs, but you also don't want "good jobs" to leave to these countries - well something has to give.
There is not enough appreciation for the fact that these "smart foreigners" are willing to work hard as they make a place for themselves in a new land, whether it's first generation or later. They are willing to work harder, because they know they have to prove themselves. After all, either they are the best and the brightest from a land who have come here for opportunities and promise of success or they have fled a place which was less politically or economically desirable.
The resentment on the visa front is a response to it. If more of these "smart foreigners" are not needed, if we have enough of them here, producing smart children, we should be able to stop more influx. 
Some stories may run in the media about the general contributions of this segment, but will the story get the same attention as the one warning of doom and gloom? News that plays to our fears gets our immediate attention. When the economy is not so hot. When unemployment rates are high. That is the time, when everyone goes fishing around to find reasons and explanations for it. Who can we blame? Who is responsible? It's a short term focus. In the short term, the outsourcing and the foreigners coming in both seem like good targets. Of course, I am not an analyst or an economist, but there seems to be a contradiction here that neither those in Washington or the reporters are interested in seeing.
America and those immigrants and their families who are now American should demand a proper recognition, respect and airing out of any xenophobic and racial issues that may be underlying in this phenomena. Many immigrant communities were ridiculed, targeted when they came. We have to insist that once this land is their home their contributions must be recognized and highlighted. A balance must also be struck, so that we don't become trapped in this identity and are as open and flexible as any to pursue the arts, business or any area that we so desire.
We shouldn't just react to this trend but rather use this opportunity to educate and demand the proper recognition for our contributions. We should also be careful not to pigeonhole ourselves into only one are of contribution.
Alka Roy, Atlanta, GA

I am totally opposed to outsourcing and immigration. It is a little too late in the day for those who arrived here years ago, or were born and raised here. But the policy should be not to allow more immigrants or H1B visas. In my opinion, there is brain drain out of India. If our best brains stayed back in India, they could develop technology that could be sold to the world. Then, if the US needs more research or technology, it will invest money in India- and that should be our goal. I believe all Indians should plan to go back to India within five to ten years, and invest all their savings there for its development in various sectors like manufacturing, developing infrastructure (and not just IT or computers). India has so many college graduates who cannot get a decent job. Our aim should be to develop more facilities there so that people from around the world come to India - to purchase goods, for surgery, software development, engineering design etc. India does not have major natural resources. Our only resource is our people.
As for myself, I plan to go back to India in the next 3 to 5 years.
Champak C Shah, Atlanta, GA

Frankly, I feel that the contribution of immigrant Indian, Chinese and other Asian families to the US Economy, and especially in the areas of science and technology, are both self-evident and recognized. We are headed towards a global lifestyle now, where exchange of people and their skills are essential, and the government in power here should only encourage those who have the knowledge. I see the US population doing a lot abroad also by way of community work and global outreach, and more of this should be encouraged by both the US and the countries receiving the help. For instance the fire that killed so many girls in a Chennai school may not have happened if Indian authorities were helped to be more fire conscious by people from other parts of the globe.
Dr Indrani Dutta-Gupta, Roswell GA