Highly-skilled Migration from China and India to Canada and the United States

Using publicly available data, this article aims to understand how immigration policies in Canada and the United States have affected the flow and utilization of highly-skilled migrants from China and India. Reviewing existing literature on the policies about, and utilization of, human capital among highly-skilled migrants, and describing the policy contexts in both receiving countries, we present detailed empirical evidence to show that in spite of their higher education attainment than the general population and the total foreign-born population, China- and India-born migrants are not immune from the brain waste phenomenon. This is especially so among the India-born. We end the article with policy implications for both countries.