Skilled Immigrants on Why They're Leaving the U.S. 17 years ago
Similar story - back in the 90s it was next to impossible to work on an international scientific project with the USA because scientist working in US universities had to apply for the same green card quota as MS/Intel/Google etc.
This year apparently it's much easier to get a green card but the feeling in academia is that it just isn't worth the hassle. In my field (nuclear physics), except for some weapons projects, it's becoming a bit of a scientific backwater.