Trump's policies in his 2nd term, however, have made hiring foreign workers more difficult.
The world's top talent has long gravitated toward Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
That might now be changing, however, as governments around the world scramble to attract the high-skilled foreign workers left in the lurch by President Donald Trump's recent policy changes.
In his second term, Trump has used executive authority to push companies to hire more US citizens, casting it as part of his "Make America Great Again" agenda.
In his latest order, the president announced a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, which tech and finance companies have long relied on to hire the best and brightest from abroad.
His crackdown on immigration more broadly has also given some foreign workers pause when considering the US for a job. And federal cuts to research funding have led some top scientists to think twice about working in the US.
As companies reconsider who they hire, and workers reconsider where they want to work, other governments -- some of which are competing with the US in the race to develop artificial intelligence -- have begun making moves to attract the top talent for themselves.