From the New York Times, May 24, 2004
Letter to the Editor - The Visa Thicket, and the Brain Drain
To the Editor:
Re "A Visa Quagmire" (editorial, May 17):
Our research universities continue to be the best anywhere.
Unless we develop a better process for reviewing visas, we
are about to conduct a grand experiment on the causal relationship
between scientific leadership and the long-term health of our economy.
We cannot solve this problem simply by weaning ourselves from dependence
on foreign scientists and engineers.
For the United States to remain the world's leader in science,
we must compete successfully for the best scientific talent around
the world and get more of the best American students to become
scientists and engineers.
MICHAEL WITHERELL
Batavia, Ill., May 17, 2004
The writer is the director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
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