Graduates Struggle to Obtain Visas

In the midst of high competition for visas allowing international students to remain in the United States after graduation, Columbia’s International Students and Scholars Office is urging them to plan ahead and search for jobs early if they intend to stay.

H-1B non-immigrant status visas are highly sought-after—not only because obtaining one allows a student to stay, but also because it can work as a stepping stone to a permanent green card. But Congress currently restricts the number of visas to 65,000 lucky applicants a year.

“The issue of timing is ever more important as the quota of Hs allowed each fiscal year has been reached earlier and earlier each year—in April 2007 the quota was reached on the very first day petitions were accepted by immigration,” said Ellen Cohen, associate director at the International Students and Scholars Office, in an e-mail distributed to international students.

The recent avalanche of applications comes in stark contrast to 2005, when because of significantly fewer applicants, slots remained available until August.

In order to obtain a visa, applicants must have post-secondary degrees and present themselves as temporary workers who will work in the United States as “a professional in a specialty occupation.” Applicants must also be employed in a job that will pay more than the “prevailing wage,” which is defined as the average wage paid to US citizens for a specific location and field.

An additional hurdle to obtaining visas is the fact that employers must petition on behalf of their employees, placing applicants at the mercy of companies which must promptly file and sponsor the applications.

Ecuador-native Nicolas Alvear, CC ’09, currently works as an intern for Goldman Sachs with optional practical training status, which allows him to study as an intern for up to twelve months. But he intends to apply for an H-1B visa next year, a prospect which is already causing him concern.

“Because the markets are tight right now, it’s very hard to get a visa. All companies are fighting for the limited visas,” he said.

During his search for internships, one of Alvear’s potential employers told him that if he were to be hired, he would have to work out of the country because of the visa ceiling. Only big companies such as investment banking or consulting firms are willing to go through the hassle of petitioning immigration for visas, Alvear said.

Eric Wang, CC ’08 and a native of China, was recently hired by Merrill Lynch, but said that simply getting a job from a company does not guarantee visas for international students. “Even if the company hires you, you’re not really hired until the company gets the H-1B for you,” Wang said. “A lot of friends were caught up with the visa issue and had to go to Hong Kong or London to reapply.”

Labor organizations have protested that H-1B visas depress American wages despite the prevailing wage clause and take job opportunities away from American citizens.
But company owners that benefit from skilled international workers, such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Intel’s Andy Grove, have actively lobbied Congress for the abolition of limits on H-1B visas. They argue that it causes what they call a “reverse brain drain,” where international students educated in the U.S. are pushed out of the country and end up working for competing foreign firms.

The ISSO plans to have a meeting for students on the matter in early March.

seo-hee.im@columbiaspectator.com