All the manufacturing jobs leave the U.S. for China, India, South America, and eventually Africa, the U.S. will face more economic competition for both products and minds. To remain and be a knowledge leader throughout the next century, the U.S. has one massive industry that cannot be easily copied – universities.

Higher education in the U.S. is unmatched by any country. U.S. universities dominate international rankings. Shanghai Jiao Tong University awards the U.S. with 54 spots on the top 100 with the U.K. trailing with 11, Germany at 6, and downward. Many of our universities are famous and respected because of centuries of history and the prestige and connections that provides, something not easily replicated by young yet also top schools in India, China, and other emerging powers.

First, I bringing this up as, amid the global recession, universities are at risk. California is slashing university funding and endowments at Harvard and other universities have seen 27 percent losses. Also most threatening is the drop in foreign applications to U.S. universities, the first drop in five years (when the last drop had more to do with 9/11 than economics). Prices for U.S. universities have skyrockets, more than three times more than inflation, while the government makes attaining visas even harder.

But we should want foreign students coming to study in the U.S. This encourages the next generation of business leaders, scientists, and artists to spend four or more years in the U.S., spending money, learning our culture (and selfishly, learning English), and then hopefully staying to work here or, at least, doing business with us.

This is why limiting H-1B visas is so dangerous for the U.S. economy. One out of four tech companies are founded by immigrants who then create far more jobs than they take away. Even without starting companies, our current tech companies cannot fill all the high-tech jobs they need, but are limited to only a few foreign hirers. Instead, these highly trained and would-be highly paid immigrants return to their native countries to start companies there.

Monday, I will discuss how universities structure, from price to format, is undergoing a radical shift that requires forward-thinking and evolution.