The goal of this effort is to degrade the Russian Federation’s high-tech resources. They want to make it easier for Russians with experience in semiconductors, space technology, cybersecurity, and nuclear engineering to enter the country.
The White House administration intends to lure leading Russian scientists to the United States, for which they plan to simplify visa requirements for the migration of valuable specialists.
It is noted that the White House is preparing the abolition of some visa requirements for Russian highly qualified scientists. In particular, in its latest request to Congress, the White House proposed to eliminate the need for an employer in the United States to obtain a work visa.
This rule is expected to apply to Russian citizens with a master’s or doctoral degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from the United States or abroad.
This initiative is aimed at weakening the high-tech resources of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in the long term should undermine the innovation base of the Russian Federation.
The administration wants to make it easier for Russians with expertise in semiconductors, space technology, cybersecurity, advanced computing, nuclear engineering, artificial intelligence, rocket propulsion technology and other specialized science fields to move.
On March 7, economist Konstantin Sonin of the University of Chicago tweeted, “About 200,000 people fled Russia in the last 10 days. The tragic exodus not seen for a century.”
According to an estimate by the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, between 70,000 and 100,000 information technology specialists may try to flee in April, according to an Interfax report.
In recent weeks, the US and some of its Group of Seven allies have proposed providing Russian scientists, particularly those working at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), protected status.
After the war broke out, CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, halted most of its collaboration with Russia.
Image Credit: Getty
You were reading: US plans to poach Russian scientists