Abstract: The subject of this research is the programs for attracting highly skilled workers in the United States, the Russian Federation, and Germany. The developed countries compete for such valuable and limited resource as highly skilled workforce. It is emphasized that the immigration system and the priority of highly skilled workers in migration flows contributes to the long-term rise in labor productivity, technological innovations, and entrepreneurial development. The currently implemented in the Russian Federation policy of recruiting highly skilled workers leans on the experience of countries that have already embarked on such programs of priority migration. Within the framework of comparative analysis of the category “highly skilled migrant” in the United States, the Russian Federation and Germany, the authors highlight their characteristic features of national approaches towards migration policy. The ambiguity of the term “highly skilled workforce” and national peculiarities of visa policy with regards to migrants are outlined. The need for highly skilled migrants is substantiated with consideration of the global and national factors. Over the period from 2010 to 2016, in the United States the number of H-1B visa applications has increased by 28%, the number of issued H-1B visas by 44%; Germany marks the increase in the number of highly skilled migrants by 8%; the approved visas for highly skilled workers in the Russian Federation amounts to 82%. The article systematizes the relevant methods of recruiting highly skilled specialists in the United States, the Russian Federation and Germany.