I am a former H1B visa holder and US citizen. When I arrived in the US in 2004 with a trekker's backpack, an F1 visa, and $2,000, I had no idea how this country would change my life. Within six years, I was hired by MIT as an Assistant Professor and within ten I had started my own company. The US provided me with a level of opportunity that I doubt I would have seen anywhere else in the world. So let me tell you why I think the US is a perfect complement to foreign talent and why it is in our interest to keep it this way. I moved to the US in 2004 to pursue a PhD in Physics. When I landed, I expected my American classmates to be more advanced than I was in theoretical physics concepts. But I was wrong. I quickly realized that I had taken more graduate level courses than them. Their bachelor education had meandered through multiple topics, while I had been on a 100% physics and math track that helped me test out of graduate courses and move right into research. And that is where the American magic began. Back home, my brief encounters with research focused on making small improvements on well-established problems using sophisticated tools. Many people were competing to show how smart they were by dominating byzantine methods. In the US, I saw many researchers succeed by picking “simple” but relevant problems. That was a perfect complement for my technical background. I felt like Daniel San the moment he figured out the value of waxing all of those cars. I finally was at a place where my skills were useful. America is a land opportunity in big part because it has a fantastic work culture that values things such as relevance, communication, and simplicity. In X, international comparisons of work culture often veer into formal things like maternity leave. But as someone that has worked in a few countries, I am convinced that many subtle things, such as knowing how to take turns during a meeting, or responding to an email quickly, can go a long way. In many countries, work is an overregulated bureaucratic nightmare. American culture can be extremely refreshing for foreigners who know what it means to battle unnecessary processes and rules. But there is more. The US work culture is also open and optimistic. Most countries suffer from “well intentioned” cronyism, where people hire, associate, and promote others based on personal relationships. This certainly happens to some degree in the United States, but less than in other places. That openness, however, is key for providing opportunities for outsiders with more skills than networks. Also, many countries pessimistic work cultures, where people shoot others down as a way to flex their wit. But as Nat Friedman said, “Pessimists sound smart. Optimists make money.” American can-do attitude is a valuable intangible that is prevalent in the US. Now, to the point of this post, these aspects of American work culture are great complements for skilled foreign workers. Complements that favor America. America’s open work culture, with its emphasis on communication skills and optimism, is amazing for organizing teams. Skilled foreigners perform better in teams with an American work culture than in teams of bureaucratized pessimists that don’t know how to take turns during a meeting. When those surviving in those more hostile work environments move to America, they can unleash their technical skills in relevant problems within optimistic organizational cultures that are rare back home. Whether it is Von Braun and his team moving to Texas, or a brilliant young man or women from Sicily or Jakarta coming to the US for their PhD, America benefits from this complement. The fact that every year we get the first pick on the draft is a key competitive advantage. Sure, we do not always know if the first pick of the draft will turn out great, but getting the first pick of the draft is not something we want to lose. We should double down on what makes America exceptional.