Biden wants to ease visa restrictions for educated Russians

US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it easier for highly educated Russians to obtain visas to work in the States. Writes about it CNN.

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The request, if passed, would allow Russians with a master's or doctoral degree in engineering, engineering, or mathematics to apply for a visa without first obtaining a sponsor-employer in the US.

The amendment would require the Department of Homeland Security to "expedite the review of such applications," the document says, "as necessary" and with some scrutiny.

The administration explained in the document that this "will help the US attract and retain Russian STEM talent and undermine Russia's innovation capacity, which will benefit US national security." According to the document, the innovation expires four years after the date of its entry into force.

“We want to take this opportunity to provide leading Russian scientists with a clear path to permanently leave Russia and move to the United States, depriving Putin of his best innovators and best brains,” a White House spokesman said. “We believe this will enhance our own national security and strengthen the domestic economy by adding highly skilled professionals to our workforce, as well as weaken Russia’s innovation base while strengthening America’s.”

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The official noted that there is a precedent for this request, most recently the Soviet Scientists Immigration Act of 1992, which provided leading Soviet scientists with the opportunity to immigrate to the United States without a sponsoring employer. The proposal allowed about 450 Russian scientists to immigrate to the US, and the administration believes that this time the number will be "far more, given the current political climate."

Tens of thousands of highly educated Russians have reportedly fled Russia since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine more than two months ago. The Biden administration hopes to take advantage of this turnover and lure some of these workers to the US, officials say.

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The document says the visa changes will affect Russians with degrees in advanced nuclear energy technologies, advanced rocket propulsion technologies, directed energy, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, space technologies and systems.

The US has already sought to limit Russia's ability to remain technologically competitive by imposing severe export restrictions on materials such as semiconductors, which are used in thousands of electronic products.

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