(CNSNews.com) - The Department of Homeland Security is expanding a program that allows foreign students to work in the United States when they're finished studying at U.S. colleges and universities.

"Attracting the best and brightest international talent to our colleges and universities and enabling them to contribute to their professional growth is an important part of our nation's economic, scientific and technological competitiveness," said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

According to DHS, "These reforms reflect the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to promote policies that embrace talented students from other countries, who come to study in our finest colleges and universities and enrich the nation by allowing highly skilled foreign graduates to extend their post-graduate training in the United States and work in their field of study upon graduation."

Earlier this year, DHS announced several measures that will streamline existing pathways for immigrant entrepreneurs to enter the U.S. and create businesses here; allow businesses to retain more foreign-born science and technology students who graduate from U.S. universities; and make it easier for top researchers to immigrate to the U.S.

American educators received a wake-up call today when it was revealed that students in Shanghai rank number one globally in reading, math and science, far outpacing their American peers. Despite modest gains in math and science, the U.S. continues to lag behind other developed countries.

While OECD countries such as Finland, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and New Zealand continue to outpace the U.S. in reading, science and math, all eyes are on China. In its first year to be included in the study as a non-OECD education system, Shanghai ranked first in all three categories. Hong Kong came in second in reading and science and third in math.

China’s one child policy, says Blumenthal, has led to a situation that resources are being concentrated by families on a single child, thereby allowing them to get the best education they can get.
India is second on the list, with more than 104,000 students studying in the United States. South Korea places third with more than 72,000 students. The Asian region now makes up a majority of the total international student population.

The United States is the best country in the world to start a business, according to the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), a ranking that is produced in part at Mason and that compares entrepreneurial characteristics of 79 nations and identifies the entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses of their economies.