Immigration is a focal point of the presidential campaign, but voters will find little difference when they compare the positions of John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

All three support a path to legalization for illegal immigrants that includes learning English and paying fines.

All three favor tougher penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

All three voted for a fence along the Mexican border.

There's plenty of verbiage on their websites, but little, if any, mention of one of the major competitiveness issues facing business here in Washington and across America: Our ability to attract, educate and retain the best and brightest minds in the world to provide the intellect and innovation needed to compete in the global economy.

In the critical disciplines of science, mathematics and engineering, more than 50 percent of advanced degrees earned at U.S. universities are awarded to foreign nationals. Forty percent of engineers in U.S. science and engineering jobs are foreign-born.

Unfortunately, because of our antiquated immigration policies -- artificial quotas, processing delays and unnecessary bureaucracy -- more than half of these talented, American-trained scholars are prevented from signing on with American companies.

According to a University of Chicago study conducted last year, 33 percent of research doctorates awarded by U.S. universities in 2006 went to students with temporary visas. That's up from 25 percent in just five years. In science and engineering, 44 percent of doctorates went to foreign students.

The combined numbers at the University of Washington and Washington State University support the trend. Foreign nationals accounted for 57 percent of all engineering Ph.D.s awarded by the two schools in 2006, according to the American Association of Engineering Societies.

At UW, 58 of 107 engineering doctorates awarded went to foreign students; 17 of 22 in electrical engineering. At WSU, the numbers were 21 out of 32 and four of five, respectively.

What is more disconcerting is that the percentage of doctorates earned by U.S. citizens ranged from lows of 32 percent in engineering and 47 percent in physical sciences, to highs of 87 percent in education and 78 percent in the humanities, according to the University of Chicago research.

American business can't stand by while Congress, the federal bureaucracy and economic protectionists wring their hands. Regulations limit to 65,000 the number of H-1B visas for foreign professionals. That quota eliminates more than half of foreign students who received advanced degrees last year from seeking positions with U.S. companies.

The failure to fix the problem is limiting innovation and tying the hands of U.S. companies as they compete against emerging economic powers such as China and India. More jobs are going overseas and, in Microsoft's case, to Canada, where the company is establishing a software development center near Vancouver. U.S. immigration polices were cited as one reason for its location.

A recent story in The New York Times Magazine points out that twice as many Chinese study in Europe as in the U.S. "We didn't educate them," the author points out, "so we have no claims on their brains or loyalties as we have in decades past."

So, what should business leaders be hearing from the candidates? Compete America, a coalition of corporations, educators and trade associations, committed to assuring that U.S. employers have the ability to hire and retain the world's best talent, suggests the following:

• Elimination of artificial quotas that stifle access to the world's best and brightest.
• Assurance that immigration applications are processed in a timely and predictable manner.
• Insistance that authorities use technology, information sharing and cooperation among agencies to conduct background checks, visa adjudications, inspection and enforcement.
• Elimination of taxes and fees assessed on business for every H-1B visa holder hired.