Science job and workforce growth in the United States could be stymied under current federal controls that govern visas and exports, warns a new report, which calls for a revision of the existing regulations. The January 2009 report by the National Research Council, Beyond "Fortress America": National Security Controls on Science and Technology in a Globalized World, says current visa and export regulations are rooted in the 1950s, hamper US competitiveness and impede science and technology job and industry growth. US visa and export regulations impede the free flow of people into the country as well as information or products-out of it. Recent changes in visa laws have lengthened the time it takes for a non-US resident to get a US visa, the US state department concedes on its website. Export laws limit or bar publication of information and exportation of goods that could potentially pose a threat to national security.
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