Computerworld columnist Steven Vaughan-Nichols is warning that foreign tech workers are avoiding attending US events and are not interested in jobs in the Land of the Fee.
Vaughan-Nichols said that after President Donald Trump returned to office in January, European conference attendees told him they would not take jobs or attend conferences in the United States.
The mood is not exactly mysterious when the US feels like it has “Keep Out!” and “No Trespassing!” signs nailed to the arrivals hall with bizarre rules about handing over all your data to check you have not made a social media post taking the Michael out of Trump.
He said that even top tech people who flew in with proper visas and paperwork were getting turned away at the border.
Trade show organisers are seeing the same pattern, and they are not pretending it is a blip. Getting speakers and attendees from outside the States to commit to US events is getting harder, and plenty refuse to try.
Quelle surprise.
Likewise, I’ve heard from scientists that conferences here in the US that used to be full of researchers from around the world have become mostly US-only as people abroad don’t want to travel here.