33 of the 40 finalists of the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search–the leading science competition for U.S. high school students, now known as the Regeneron Science Talent Search–were the children of immigrants. Additionally, 30 of this group had parents who worked in America on H-1B visas, the option that is no longer available for expedited processing due to a recent policy change.
A report from the National Foundation for American Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to public policy research on trade, immigration, and education, calls the science competition the ‘Junior Nobel Prize’. It says that if children of immigrants somehow disappeared from the U.S., America would be in a serious science talent deficit; their ranks have been steadily increasing since 2004.
Among these 40 finalists, 14 had parents both born in India, 11 had parents both born in China, and 7 had parents both born in the United States. To put these numbers in perspective, people of Indian and Chinese birth represent only about 1 percent of the U.S. population each, according to the Pew Research Center.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
