The Systematic Screwing Over of International Students in America
“What? That’s like asking your sister to Venmo you for groceries!”
The whole group burst into laughter at this statement, at both its sheer absurdity and the painful truth behind it. As I stood there with the fellow new grads I had just met at a housewarming party in Seattle, we bonded rapidly over a common pain point- international student work visas post-graduation, namely the elusive H1B visa for international employees in the U.S. There we stood, myself a Canadian, the other three with British, Indian, and Peruvian passports, two Columbia and two MIT degrees between the four of us.
Surrounded by the din of laughter and celebratory clinking of champagne glasses around us, we stood in our alien world, talking about the very serious issue of work visas with the self-deprecating, jocular tone we had all become accustomed to using when discussing this topic. Much of this is due to the absurdity of the situation, but more because it’s the only way we can discuss it without feeling the true, depressing gravity of our reality.
My new British friend made the Venmo comparison in utter disbelief after learning that Canadians like myself are subject to the same harsh, restrictive work visa requirements all other countries are in America. I nodded vehemently in agreement, making another joke about it when I suddenly caught myself.
One year out of college, I had become jaded and accepting of a system that is unbelievably complex and unfair. I thought back to the me six years ago, a diligent senior at a public high school in Toronto, pouring my soul into applications for top American schools with all the zeal and idealism of a 16-year old girl with visions of lush green lawns, cosmopolitan international students, and limitless opportunities advertised in countless glossy college catalogues sent to my home. It seemed like the utopia I had been dreaming of my whole life; sure, I could have gone to school in Canada for free, but I wanted my mind to be opened at a higher level, and a place where I can go make a global impact to better people’s lives on the biggest scale possible — America.
It turns out there are some things the college brochures, admission letters, welcome packet, and your orientation leader all fail to tell you.
They don’t tell you that after beating the odds to get into a great school, four years of grueling hard work and $240,000 to get a degree at an American school, the likely scenario is you’ll face is a hastened goodbye to the best friends you made there and a trip back to your home country, for good.
They don’t tell you that to even take a minimum wage internship, you have to pay $380 and wait three months for something called OPT (Optional Practical Training), the slowness of the application process derailing the timing of many positions you work hard to land.
They don’t tell you that this OPT period only lasts 12 months and you must parcel it out carefully amongst your four years of school and post-graduation, because if time runs out, you simply cannot work in the U.S. anymore.
They don’t tell you that most companies in the U.S. will not even consider you for an interview if you require sponsorship because of how difficult and expensive it is to get obtain it, something most companies can simply not afford.
And finally, they don’t tell you that even if a company is willing to take a chance on you and sponsor you for an H1B , the likelihood of landing one in the lottery has gone from about 84% in 2011 to 22% in 2015. In other words, there’s a 4 out of 5 chance that after about 9 months of employment, you’ll have to leave the position you fought all odds to land.
The truth is, the number of international students in the U.S. has been increasingly steadily (a roughly 25% increase just from 2008 to 2013), yet the cap for H1B visas, which represents the only way to stay in the country for most of these students, sits stagnant. Then comes news the 17-month OPT extension for STEM students, many of whom changed their major to take advantage of this program, may be revoked as of February 2016, and all 50,000 plus current holders of this extension abruptly deported. Salt, meet wound.
As American universities position themselves as world leaders in education and readily welcome an increasing amount of international students, the government needs to step up and be ready for the influx of foreign talent graduating every year. The students themselves are more than ready to contribute to the American work force in industries starved for talent like computer science and engineering. This is not only the responsible thing to do for the students they court, it’s incredibly advantageous to allow the brightest minds in the world, educated at America’s finest institutions of higher learning, to stay in the country and contribute to the success of American companies. As former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park remarked in a White House blog post, “Today’s advanced STEM graduate could be tomorrow’s world-class, world-changing scientist. After all, one recent study looked at all U.S.-based Nobel laureates over the past 50 years, and found that 26 percent were foreign born.”
But as it stands now, it all just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.
I attended Columbia University, which boasts the fifth highest percentage of international students at 19% for its Class of 2018. This is a number proudly advertised everywhere as a drawing factor to the school, and rightly so- my absolutely favorite and most valuable part of my Columbia experience was learning from my incredible peers from every corner of the world, each the best and brightest in their country, gathering in Morningside Heights to share their beautiful minds and awe-inspiring perspectives.
I’ve also seen too many of these students forced to leave the country, the sparkle in their eyes dulled by the bureaucratic battles they have had to fight on their own in their four years here, leaving in defeat after exhausting every avenue possible. Many are prodigies, most are visionaries, all incredibly bright and kind, hard-working people. Similar accounts are readily found from students at other schools including Harvard, Dartmouth, and Stanford.
To make matters worse, mainstream media coverage on the H1B issue is scarce, and when it exists, focuses on a specific demographic of those applying for the visa. Most focus on Indian workers sent to America from consulting firms to copy and eventually take the jobs of Americans. Thus, the common sentiment in comments on articles about international workers in America runs along the lines of “go back home!” and borderline xenophobic declarations of American jobs being taken away by foreign people, the issue never gaining steam or sympathy in the general public. The plight of high-achieving students with bright potential is relegated largely to campus newspapers, preaching to the choir.
The U.S. government needs to create more responsible legislation and recognize the special value international students add to the work force; reckless rulings like the sudden invalidation of a STEM OPT Extension show a blatant lack of consideration for these students has a real, tangible effect for individuals and corporations (you can help by signing the White House petition urging proper regulation here). Prominent politicians like Bernie Sanders, who are lobbying for leadership over the whole country, need to see the whole demographic of those applying for H1Bs instead of writing them off in one fell swoop, recognize the differences within that group, and create new paths to employment visas and green cards that reflect these very important differences in ability and potential benefit to the American economy.
They also need to recognize the impact this is having on companies who have to give up on top-tier candidates due to restrictive visas and caps. The time is now to figure out a long-term solution for an international student population whose growth in numbers will not cease, whose ability to improve the world will only increase, and whose wish to stay in the U.S. should not be reduced to a very improbable American dream.
