Desire to Move Permanently to U.S. at New Low

The conversation focused on Gallup's finding that desire to move permanently to the U.S. is at a new low. Some commenters, like Aurornis and caaqil, emphasized caveats in the poll - that the U.S. remains the top single destination and that the decline partly reflects a global drop in expressed desire to migrate. Others, including metabagel and AnnikaL, argued the decline is notably sharper for the U.S. and linked it to recent policy moves: visa revocations, tougher H‑1B enforcement, and anti-immigration rhetoric. Personal anecdotes from wolvoleo and nailer illustrated how cost of living, culture, and immigration hassles shape choices.

Participants debated causes and interpretation. Several noted regional and demographic variation: rayiner and cul i pointed to low emigration appetite in South/East Asia and rising in-country opportunity in SE Asia, while cmiles8 and Daishiman argued top-tier talent still prefers the U.S. but lower‑tier flows have waned. Measurement and framing were questioned by atoav and glimshe (absolute vs per‑capita metrics). Opinion split on outcomes: EcommerceFlow and testbjjl welcomed reduced immigration as beneficial to Americans, whereas pessimizer and binlog warned restrictive policy will deter skilled migrants and exacerbate global brain‑drain.