> Many of them would prefer to go to the USA but the USA's strict immigration policies keep them out. Given the political untenability of the various other pol

> Many of them would prefer to go to the USA but the USA's strict immigration policies keep them out. Given the political untenability of the various other policy changes Obama could push through before the end of his second term (such as gun control or marijuana legalization), I think it's quite likely that he will focus on immigration reform. It's the least controversial, and big business will lobby the GOP to support it. A large part of the attraction of Europe for tech workers from other parts of the world is the relative ease of immigration. It will be interesting to see what happens to that if immigration reform is actually realized in America.