Response to the American Immigration Council on the Value of Foreign Degrees
By Jason Richwine on March 12, 2019
The Center recently published my report (and hosted an event) showing that immigrants with foreign degrees are less skilled than U.S. degree holders. The figure below summarizes the results.
For example, among those with at least a college degree, native-born Americans score at the 74th percentile on the PIAAC test of literacy skills, while U.S.-educated immigrants score at the 66th percentile, and foreign-educated immigrants score at just the 42nd percentile. The numeracy and computer operations PIAAC tests show a similar pattern. "Policy-makers should therefore be cautious in treating foreign degrees as evidence of 'high-skill' immigration," I wrote.
Remarkably, Walter Ewing of the American Immigration Council (an arm of the American Immigration Lawyers Association) calls this conclusion "far beyond" what the data can support. He makes two arguments. First, he says the PIAAC covers only basic skills rather than the specialized knowledge possessed by foreign-educated immigrants. Second, he claims that the high demand for H-1B workers proves their skills are genuine.
https://cis.org/Richwine/Response-American-Immigration-Council-Value-Foreign-Degrees
