The Harvard Student H1B Visa Act
The Harvard Student H1B Visa Act
Date: Monday, April 30, 2007 5:41 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1683 -- 4/30/2007 >>>>>
Hiawatha Bray published another one of his stinkers for The Boston Globe.
In typical fashion he has lots of sob stories from foreign students who
complain they can't get H-1B visas and plenty of shortage shouting by
employers who say they can't find Americans to do the job. You may be
tempted to stop reading the article before the last several paragraphs
where the real zinger appears:
Speaking for international students at yesterdays meeting,
Rebecca R. Gong 08, a Beijing native and president of the
Woodbridge Society endorsed yesterdays paper.
Gong said that calendar reform would allow international
students to enjoy more extensive breaks despite long travel
times, and it would become easier to apply on time for H1-B
work visas.
When I first read this I thought there must be a misunderstanding. Could it
be that a student activist is actually trying to change Harvard's academic
schedule to accommodate foreign students who want to get H-1B visas? The
answer is yes! A Harvard student named Rebecca Gong started a lobbying
campaign to convince Harvard to change their academic calendar. According
to Gong the students at Harvard graduate later than other schools, so they
are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting into the queue to apply for
H-1B visas.
Rebecca Gong is a Chinese-American student who should get the top honors
for ignorance and arrogance. To find out more about her go to her online
auto-biography here:
http://prefrosh.net/go/User:Becca
Gong's background is worth looking at in order to understand her
motiviations. She was born in the U.S. but went to high school in Communist
China. She calls herself a pseudo-international which may be just a way of
saying that she considers herself to have dual citizenship and split
loyalties. Like many students nowadays, Gong probably thinks of herself as
a citizen of the world who has no loyalty to anyone but the New World
Order.
Gong explained that she doesn't have visa issues, which is probably true
since she was born in the U.S., and apparently China welcomes her with open
arms. Since Gong doesn't have a personal need to obtain visas my guess is
that her activism is probably more a case of misguided idealism then a
self-interest in obtaining visas.
It's possible that Gong feels more loyalty to foreign students and hopes to
get in their good graces by helping them to obtain visas. We all know how
important peer pressure is to people her age. Go to this page to get a few
more insights into her identity struggle:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518329
Its a Small World, After All
Go to this page to read more about her activities in the "Harvard Model
United Nations".
http://www.harvardmun.org/2007/websys.exe?file=index.html
The Harvard Model United Nations is a simulator that allows students to
play like they are U.N. policy makers. It's a way to train future globalist
leaders to "represent the interests of the member states of the United
Nations on the most relevant topics of current affairs in the global
community."
Other Harvard students have jumped on this bandwagon. Pamela Chan, a
transfer student from Ontario, proposed a new Harvard policy to correct
this problem called "25S- 1, The Harvard Student H1B Visa Act", sponsored
by Rep. Pamela Chan (Pforzheimer 07). To read more about 25S-1 go to:
http://www.uc.fas.harvard.edu/council.web/agendas/files/25S/UCAgenda2-11-07.pdf
As I suspected, Pamela Chan is a member of the "Harvard Model United
Nations". Apparently Chan has been trading notes with Gong.
Efforts by Rebecca Gong and Pamela Chan to change Harvard's graduation
schedule are misguided attempts to fix a problem that doesn't exist. Gong
thinks that upon graduation foreign students on F-1 visas are forced into a
mad race to petition for H-1B visas. In this scenario those that get in
front of the line are most likely to obtain their H-1B visas before the
limit is reached. This is all predicated on the assumption that there
aren't enough H-1B visas for all the students that want them. She thinks
that foreign students at a few schools such as Harvard and Princeton are at
a disadvantage compared to other schools because they graduate later and
therefore have to wait longer to get in the queue for H-1B petitions.
Actually nothing could be further from the truth!
There are several reasons why Wong is wrong (please pardon my poetry!):
1) Foreign students don't file H-1B petitions, employers do. In theory, but
not necessarily in practice, when an employer files a Labor Condition
Application (LCA) they do so because they can't find an American worker to
hire. Employers don't worry about exact dates of graduation because they
can file the LCA 6 months ahead of time. By the time a foreign student
graduates the employer has H-1B visa process ready to go, so the exact date
of graduation makes no difference at all as far as the LCA is concerned.
To prove my point, this is straight from the website of an immigration
attorney who makes big bucks off the H-1B business.
http://www.h1visajobs.com/news_reading_room/news/4June2000MURTHY.htm
INS regulations allow an H-1B petition to be filed as much as six
months in advance of the intended employment date.
Keep in mind that the H-1B petition is filed by the employer, not the
student. The foreign student has no choice or control over the visa
process. This quote from Murthy makes it very clear that Rebecca Wong is
very confused:
The biggest hurdle for them [foreign students] is locating a U.S.
employer open and willing to sponsor [H-1B visas].
2) The reason I predicated the first condition with, "in theory, but not
necessarily in practice" is because in the real world many foreign students
already have jobs before they graduate. They can work for up to one year
with an authorization called Optional Practical Training (OPT). This allows
employers to hire foreign students even if H-1B visas are not available.
It's very common for employers to convert F-1 visas with OPTs to H-1Bs.
3) There is no H-1B queue so the entire issue is irrelevant. Once a foreign
student graduates the employer can file for the visa. At this point the LCA
is approved but now the tough part of securing a visa begins. The deadline
for submitting H-1B visas is April 1. Once all the visas are gathered up a
lottery is held to determine who gets an H-1B visa. Since the CIS
essentially draws names out of a big hat, it doesn't matter when the H-1B
petition arrived as long as it's before the deadline.
Guess when most students graduate --- in May! In other words, they graduate
after the H-1B deadline. The funny thing is that the document titled
"Harvard Student H1B Visa Act" has a table with graduation dates, so they
proved my point.
4) Foreign students don't have to have an H-1B visa in order to stay and
work in the USA, although most of them would prefer to have an H-1B. The
only risk in using OPTs is that the one year time limit could run out
before the employer can switch the foreign worker to H-1B or some other
visa. Obviously by the time the OPT runs out the graduation date is
irrelevant.
They don't have to worry about being deported as long as they have a job
offer in their hand at the time of graduation. Usually the students are
working under OPT before they graduate as interns, so
Murthy does as good a job of explaining this as anybody:
http://www.murthy.com/news/n_ugplan.html
Most students are eligible for one year of Optional Practical
Training (OPT) at the completion of their programs. It is important
to make sure that the OPT is filed in a timely fashion.
Alternatively, if a student is unable to obtain an H1B sponsor for
FY2008, the OPT will permit her/him to work for a year after
graduation.
There is one exception where students who graduate are at a slight
disadvantage as far as getting H-1B visas on the first go-around. If they
are they are applying for one of the 20,000 exemptions to the yearly cap of
65,000 for H-1Bs with advanced degrees, registration for those begin April
1. Those types of students represent a very small number of the total H-1B
visas that are issued, and most of them get the visas, albeit they may
spend some time on an OPT.
So why are rumors about H-1B so rampant on campuses? Well, for one thing
campus officials help to fan the flames. Take for example Ann Kuhlman,
director of the Office of International Students and Scholars at Yale who
made this statement:
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/18249?badlink=1
The congressionally mandated quota was reached more than two
months earlier in 2006 than it was last year, and before many
students received their diplomas, said Ann Kuhlman, director of
the Office of International Students and Scholars at Yale.
Because the H-1B application requires proof of at least a
bachelors degree, graduating seniors were at a significant
disadvantage to other visa applicants, who were able to apply
from April 1, she said.
Kuhlman preys on the fears of foreign students that they might miss the
boat for visas.
"The difficulty is you never quite know when you are going to
hit the limitation", Kuhlman said. "Im sure it was certainly a
disappointment to find out that you just missed it."
It's tough to tell if the problem with Kuhlman is ignorance of the visa
process. Considering her position at Yale that would be rather surprising.
A far more likely scenario is that she is deliberately participating in a
disinformation campaign to gather support for an increase to the H-1B cap.
Either way Rebecca Wong has bought into the hysteria. Wong, like many of
her foreign friends at Harvard, may think she is God's gift to America
without realizing that she is instead being used as a pawn by open-border
globalists and the cheap labor lobby.
If Kuhlman was the only one spreading false information around it would be
logical to conclude that she is just one person that doesn't understand her
job, but when others in universities who are in similar positions repeat
the same mistruths there appears to be a pattern of deceit that is beyond
mere incompetance or ignorance.
According to Rebecca Wong, Rachel Baldwin, the Assistant Dean of
Undergraduate Students at Princeton, said approximately the same thing as
Kuhlman. On a whim I searched Google to see if Rachel Baldwin actually said
such a thing and BINGO! Here it is:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/04/04/news/17930.shtml
The federal government places a quota on the number of H-1B visas
it gives out each year -- this year, the number is 65,000 -- but
the incompatibility of the University's calendar with the federal
timetable results in graduating seniors not gaining spots in the
current year's quota. Often, they must wait until a year after
graduation to apply for a work visa.
Later on in the same article Baldwin said that not all students use their
OPT allowance. She even contradicts herself by saying she doesn't know
students who had to turn down jobs for lack of a visa:
Baldwin said that since few students use their entire OPT allowance
before graduation, she did "not know of any cases where students
have turned down jobs or been subject to long delays before
beginning employment ... though some graduates are now working for
their companies overseas temporarily."
<<<<< CONCLUSION >>>>>
Taking Wong's idea to its logical extreme, foreign students would be better
off to drop out of school several weeks before graduation so that they
could get even further up the queue! Having a degree isn't necessary to get
an H-1B via since regulations allow employers to sponsor visas for foreign
nationals who have education and experience that is equivalent to the
required U.S. degree. Someone who is several weeks short of a degree but
has work experience would surely qualify for an H-1B visa. Of course common
sense dictates that everybody including foreign students is better off with
a diploma in their hand.
It's not clear why Rebecca Wong adopted this as her cause. Perhaps she has
been listening to campus rumors from friends who don't understand the visa
process. Wong's misguided idealism is being fueled by a propaganda campaign
who's purpose is to raise the yearly cap on H-1B visas. I'm not sure who is
running the propaganda campaign because I'm not privy to the seminars these
universities officials are going to.
Fee Fi Fo Fums, I smell the blood of AILA or CompeteAmerica!
I have spent enormous amounts of time researching for this newsletter. I
still haven't found the answer to one burning question -- is there a way
that employers of foreign students can apply for visas before the April 1st
deadline. The immigration lawyer quoted above seems to think so, but
another immigration attorney seems to think not:
To qualify for an H-1B Visa, you must either have a US bachelors
degree or its foreign equivalent in a field related to your
proposed employment or possess related professional experience.
"Confirmation of degree conferral would include a copy of your
diploma, or a transcript or letter from your Registrar's office
confirming that you have already satisfied all requirements for
the degree. Please note that a letter stating that you will
satisfy the degree requirements at some point in the future will
not suffice.
Fragomen's statement seems very clear and set in stone, but that's often
the case with attorneys. Fragomen is one of the chief architects and
original lobbyists for the H-1B visa program, so it's a good idea to be
cautious about what he says.
Of course the reason you have to have lawyers like Fragomen or Murthy is
that they know the loopholes. I suspect that a good lawyer like Fragomen
would know how to claim that since a student is just weeks away from
graduation and has completed 94% of a degree, the visa could be approved on
the basis of equivalency. I don't have the answers to this so I'll leave it
as an open question that might be a good subject for a future newsletter.
I would like to close this newsletter commentary with a quote from one of
the most infamous of H-1B pushers -- Harris Miller. He said that the
foreign student program is not a jobs program and that students aren't
guaranteed a job when they graduate. "The Shiller" was so right, but I
would also add the caveat that they aren't guaranteed visas either!
Material Included Below
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/04/27/foreign_born_grads_stymied_by_work_visas_quota/?page=1
Foreign-born grads stymied by work visas quota
http://www.uc.fas.harvard.edu/UC%20Calendar%20report%20--%20legislation%20version.pdf
UC Calendar Reform Act
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518126
UC Proposes Changes In Academic Calendar
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/04/04/news/17930.shtml
Seniors struggle to get visas
>>> Special thanks to Norm Matloff for his expertise on student visas. The
opinions expressed on this newsletter are my own, and may or may not
reflect those of Matloff.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/04/27/foreign_born_grads_stymied_by_work_visas_quota/?page=1
Foreign-born grads stymied by work visas quota
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | April 27, 2007
Kuanysh Batyrbekov, 22, will soon graduate from Harvard University with a
bachelor's degree in economics, and he has lined up a job with the
prominent investment bank Lehman Brothers . But he won't be spending much
time on Wall Street.
Batyrbekov is a citizen of Kazakhstan , and his student visa will expire 10
months after his June graduation. Lehman Brothers plans to keep him, but
will be forced to move Batyrbekov to one of its overseas offices.
"I'll probably end up in London because I can't get a visa," he said.
"There's no way I can stay here."
Batyrbekov has plenty of company in a year when all available work visas
were claimed in record time. Every year, thousands of foreign-born college
students graduate from US schools after acquiring valuable training and
skills. But often these graduates can't take jobs with American firms that
would gladly hire them because of limits on the number of work visas.
Compounding the problem is the fact that for eign students must graduate
before applying: This year's visa quota was filled in early April, long
before the new crop of seniors could apply.
"Our strategy is to hire the best from the US colleges, and many of the
foreign nationals have better records," said Joe Javorski, director of
recruiting at Analog Devices Inc., an electronics component maker in
Norwood. But Javorski said his company has been unable to hire many
graduates it would like to employ because the competition for visas is too
steep. "It is getting more and more difficult to get people visas without a
tremendous amount of work, cost, and associated risk," he said.
The H-1B temporary category, run by the US Citizenship and Immigration
Service, was established in 1990 to admit skilled foreign workers. It is
the most likely way for a foreigner to get permission to work in the US for
a limited time. But intense demand for foreign workers, mostly in high-tech
industries, has overwhelmed the program, which is limited to 65,000 visas
per year. This year, the service began accepting applications on April 1.
By April 2, the quota was filled. A separate program for people with
master's and doctoral degrees provides an additional 20,000 visas. There
are fewer applicants for these visas, but a spokesman said this quota is
nearly full as well.
The H-1B visas, which are good for three years and may be renewed once,
must be applied for by US-based firms seeking to hire foreigners. The
agency said it doesn't have a breakdown on which companies have applied for
the visas. But critics of the H-1B program say that major technology
services companies, many based in India, apply for thousands of visas
through their US subsidiaries, effectively securing jobs for foreign
workers in the United States that would otherwise go to Americans.
"Unfortunately, the program has been pretty much hijacked by these
technology services companies that are using it to take the business from
American workers," said Jessica Vaughan, senior policy analyst for the
Center for Immigration Studies, a lobbying group that favors tighter limits
on immigration. Vaughan opposes an increase in the number of H-1B visas
sought by several business groups, but acknowledges that the current system
puts foreign-born students at a disadvantage in applying for the program.
"I wish it was not completely swamped by what I consider to be the
illegitimate use of the program," she said.
This year, immigration officials got 133,000 applications before cutting
off the inquiries. After applications are vetted, a computer randomly
selects which ones will be awarded visas. In past years, virtually all of
the approved visas went to workers with a college education. And initial
visas approved for workers coming from abroad have lagged behind those
awarded to foreign workers already in the United States.
Officials at several technology services companies, Tata Consultancy
Services, Wipro Ltd., and Infosys Technologies Ltd., who were asked to
comment on the debate over the H-1B program did not respond.
Federal regulations require that H-1B applicants have at least a bachelor's
degree. But most students are awarded their degrees in May or June. This
wasn't a problem until recently, because it took months for the government
agency to collect enough applications to fill the H-1B quota. The slump in
the global technology market early in the decade led to a slowdown in
hiring. As a result, the quota was reduced in 2003 from 195,000 visas to
the current 65,000. But as recently as 2004, it took six months to fill the
quota.
But the tech industry is surging once again. Last week, the American
Electronics Association reported that US electronics, computer, and
software firms hired 146,000 workers in 2006, making it the best year since
the boom of the late 1990s. Companies throughout the industry are warning
that America isn't producing enough scientists and engineers to meet their
needs, and are lobbying Congress for an increase in the number of H-1B
visas. A bill to increase the H-1B cap to 115,000 was introduced in
Congress earlier this month.
"In our view, the cap needs to go up by a considerable amount," said Jim
Klocke, executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
"We're hopeful that there can be some movement this year."
In the meantime, technology companies are gobbling up about half of the
H-1B visas, according to immigration service spokesman Christopher Bentley.
However, the program is open to skilled foreign workers in every field.
"You'll see everything on the list from fashion models to accountants to
theologians," Bentley said.
Jon Stona will graduate from Harvard this year with a degree in sociology.
The giant Internet company Google Inc. has hired him, not to program
computers but to study consumer behavior in the company's marketing
department. But Stona will probably have to spend part of his Google career
at one of the company's overseas offices.
"I was hoping to get an H-1B visa, but we have to graduate first," said
Stona. That means waiting till June, two months after all the visas were
gone. Stona never had a chance. "I couldn't even apply," he said.
Rebecca Gong, a Harvard junior and president of the school's Woodbridge
Society of Inter national Students, is lobbying for a change in Harvard's
school year, which ends about two weeks later than that of other leading
universities. "Because we're so behind other university schedules, our
students are at a disadvantage to other students in applying for visas,"
Gong said.
In a referendum held earlier this month, Harvard students overwhelmingly
backed an earlier end to the school year. But Gong acknowledges that a
change in the Harvard calendar would help international graduates land H-1B
visas only if it were combined with a big increase in the current quota.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.uc.fas.harvard.edu/UC%20Calendar%20report%20--%20legislation%20version.pdf
UC Calendar Reform Act
Sponsors:
President Ryan Petersen 08
Vice President Matthew Sundquist 09
SAC Chair Michael Ragalie (Lowell 09)
Representative Alyssa Colbert (South Yard 10)
Representative Andrea Flores (West Yard 10)
Representative Nworah Ayogu (South Yard 10)
Co-sponsors:
Becca Gong, on behalf of the Woodbridge Society
International Students - international students are particularly affected
by the current calendar due to the difficulty, distance, and cost of flying
home, as well as the H1B Visa application deadlines prior to Harvards
graduation
Helping International Students
Another reason to modify the academic calendar and move the year-end date
earlier is to help graduating international students in their H1B visa
petitions (for full-time work authorization in the United States
post-graduation). Although last year the H1B cap was met on April 2, 2006,
which is far earlier than the year-end for most postsecondary institutions,
the year prior, the cap was not met until May 26, 2005. Given that many
schools finish one to two weeks earlier than Harvard, those students were
able to submit their H1B petitions earlier than their counterparts at
Harvard and therefore had a better chance of successfully obtaining H1Bs.
As explained by Rachel Baldwin, the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate
Students at Princeton (which shares a similarly late year-end), one
solution to the H1B cap problem, as experienced in 2006, is to adjust the
academic calendar. There is no doubt that changing the calendar would not,
in isolation, completely resolve the H1B problem; however, changing the
date would at least eliminate the disadvantage that Harvard students face
compared to students at most peer institutions.34 Indeed, should the US
Government resolve the scheduling difficulties with H1B Visas in the near
future by synchronizing the deadline with the graduation dates for most
American Universities, then Harvards current academic calendar would
likely continue to be an impediment to H1B visas for our international
student population. By shifting our academic calendar to the standard
calendar of most institutions of higher education, Harvard increases the
likelihood of being a beneficiary of any changes to the US Governments
H1B Visa Application process.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518126
UC Proposes Changes In Academic Calendar
Fall exams should occur before Winter Break, says position paper
Published On 4/10/2007 3:51:55 AM
By CHRISTIAN B. FLOW
Crimson Staff Writer
The Undergraduate Council unveiled its plan for a revamped academic
calendar yesterday, calling for a reconfiguration of the school year and
proposing a new calendar for implementation in 2008-2009.
The 10,000-word position paper, which UC members said went through 13
drafts prior to its release last night, was guided by the results of a
survey administered by the UC last month to about 750 students. Nearly 90
percent of the surveys respondents said they wanted to complete the fall
term before winter break.
If yesterdays UC-endorsed plans were to be adopted, students would
attend the first day of fall classes on Sept. 2. Reading period would begin
on Dec. 4, and the end of fall exams would fall three days before
Christmas.
In the absence of the current late-January reading period, students would
remain on an inter-semester break through Jan. 19. The spring semester
would then end a week-and-a-half earlier than at present.
Yesterdays plan passed by a margin of 18-4-1. Much of the dissent
focused on whether the UCs survey was statistically legitimate.
"I dont know if youve taken any base statistics," said UC
representative Justin M. Orlosky 09 during the floor debate. "[The
survey] did sort of lead the reader towards the answers that we wanted to
see.... There are good surveys and bad surveys, and I think that was on the
bad end."
Fellow UC representative Joseph W. Stanley 09 called for a new survey to
be conducted.
But Student Affairs Committee Chair Michael R. Ragalie 09 said he was
not worried about the surveys methodology.
"The numbers are so skewed towards [having] finals before winter break," he
said. "When we have those kinds of margins, I think it largely cancels out
any bias there was in the survey."
Student dissatisfaction was only one of the arguments in favor of changing
the calendar. The paper also raised claims -- corroborated by University
Health Services (UHS) officials -- that the current structure of the
academic year has a deleterious effect on the mental and physical health of
students.
According to the UC report, the Colleges aberrant scheduling of January
exams and abbreviated breaks make winter athletic scheduling difficult,
prevent students from seeing many of their hometown friends on break, and
reduce their opportunities for cross-registration.
Speaking for international students at yesterdays meeting, Rebecca R.
Gong 08, a Beijing native and president of the Woodbridge Society
endorsed yesterdays paper.
Gong said that calendar reform would allow international students to enjoy
more extensive breaks despite long travel times, and it would become easier
to apply on time for H1-B work visas.
Petersen said after the meeting that he was not concerned whether
administration officials would read the whole of yesterdays lengthy
report.
"The information [in the report] comes from authorities within the Harvard
community," he said. "They dont need to read the report. They can call
[UHS Director David S.] Rosenthal and talk to him about the impact of the
calendar on student health."
Last nights meeting ended after 10 p.m., too late to reach College
administrators for comment.
-- Staff writer Christian B. Flow can be reached at cflow@fas.harvard.edu.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/04/04/news/17930.shtml
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
CAREERS
Seniors struggle to get visas
By Ilya Blanter
Princetonian Staff Writer
International students who wish to work in the United States after
graduation often run into bureaucratic red tape -- both from the University
and from the federal government -- due to the academic calendar's
incompatibility with visa-application schedules.
Foreign college graduates are not allowed to be employed in the United
States unless they have a valid H-1B visa, which is issued to professionals
who wish to work in the country for an extended period of time. To be
eligible for the visa, graduating seniors must provide their future
employers with a letter from the University in April saying that they have
fulfilled their graduation requirements.
Since Princeton does not consider its students to have fulfilled their
graduation requirements until May, however, international seniors must miss
the letter's deadline.
"Princeton is unable to provide such a letter as course completion is
contingent upon the submittal of final examination grades and projects to
the Registrar's Office [in May]," Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students
Rachel Baldwin said in an email last week to international students in the
Class of 2007.
The federal government places a quota on the number of H-1B visas it
gives out each year -- this year, the number is 65,000 -- but the
incompatibility of the University's calendar with the federal timetable
results in graduating seniors not gaining spots in the current year's
quota. Often, they must wait until a year after graduation to apply for a
work visa.
International students said it is frustrating for them to be left in a
holding pattern. "There is going be a six-month gap when I can't work in
the U.S. before I can get my H-1B visa," Venezuelan citizen Tomas Blanco
'07 said.
"Princeton doesn't give any certificates or special letters [before
May]," Blanco explained, "because they fear if you fail senior year, you
won't return to finish your coursework because you have that letter."
Without an H-1B visa, international students hoping to stay in the
United States cannot work indefinitely under the provisions of the student
F-1 visas they obtain after admission to college. The F-1 visa includes
Optional Practice Training (OPT), which is defined by the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Service as "temporary employment for practical training
directly related to the student's major area of study."
Students with an F-1 visa are thus granted 12 months in the workplace,
which many international students use for summer internships. Any time
remaining from the 12-month period can be used after graduation.
Baldwin said that since few students use their entire OPT allowance
before graduation, she did "not know of any cases where students have
turned down jobs or been subject to long delays before beginning employment
... though some graduates are now working for their companies overseas
temporarily."
This is the case for Blanco, whom JPMorgan will send abroad for the six
months between the end of his OPT period and the beginning of his H-1B.
"In my case, it works out perfectly," Blanco said, "because in my
program there is an international rotation. JPMorgan will definitely
sponsor me for the H-1B."
Some students, like Julia Neubauer '07, don't have to worry about the
H-1B quota filling up. Neubauer, who has interned at the Princeton
University Investment Company (PRINCO) for the past two years, will
continue as a full-time employee upon graduation.
"I can still get a visa because I will work for the University and
don't fall within the quota," Neubauer said.
For students not exempt from the quota, the University does its best to
ease the process, though "if there were options to make adjustments to the
University's policies," and provide certification of completion of
coursework earlier, "we would do so," Baldwin said in an email to The Daily
Princetonian. She added that "it is not in our best interest to make
exceptions as our policies must be consistent for all students."
Baldwin's office brings immigration lawyers to campus to educate
international students about their post-graduation options, and hosts
various information sessions to help students apply for OPT.
"In my opinion, it is not fair that the workforce in the U.S. may be
subject to losing valuable students/future employees from institutions like
Princeton, Harvard and Stanford every year because the government will not
increase the H-1B visa cap or regulate the application process to better
accommodate new graduates," Baldwin said.
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