The proposed change to US student visa rules could make it very difficult for international graduates, especially Indians, to stay and work in America after completing their studies, according to Daniel Goldman, CEO and co-founder of Build.
Goldman warned that the proposal could exacerbate labor shortages in key sectors such as artificial intelligence, technology, and engineering by reducing the paths many international students currently use to stay in the country and build their careers, according to American Bazaar.Concerns center on a proposal released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last month. Under the current system, most international students on F-1 visas are admitted under a policy known as “term of status,” which allows them to remain in the United States as long as they maintain their student status and meet visa requirements.The proposed rule would replace this arrangement with a fixed residency period of up to four years. Students who need more time to complete their studies or participate in post-graduate work programs must obtain approval from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).Speaking about the potential impact, Goldman said Indian students could be among the worst affected groups as they form one of the largest international student communities in the US and are heavily involved in the H-1B visa system.
“Indian students are one of the largest student populations in the United States,” Goldman said.“They get jobs, they work through school, they get companies to say, ‘Yes, we will sponsor you,’ and they enter the H-1B lottery at a very high rate,” she said.Many international graduates use the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to gain work experience after university. During this period, employers often invest in talent training and development while sponsoring workers in the H-1B visa lottery.However, not all applicants are selected. Goldman noted that many companies have traditionally relied on alternative options to retain skilled workers when H-1B sponsorship efforts fail.One of the most popular methods is first-day CPT programs, which allow some students to continue working legally while enrolled in another academic course. According to Goldman, major employers often encouraged workers to use this option when they were unsuccessful in obtaining an H-1B visa.She believes the proposed rule would restrict that path.Under the new framework, students who have already completed a degree at a certain academic level will not be able to enroll in another program at the same level simply to maintain a work permit.“For someone who has already earned a master’s degree, they’re not going to be able to come back and say, ‘I need another master’s degree because I need a work permit to continue working,'” Goldman said.Alternatively, some workers may have to obtain higher qualifications, such as doctoral degrees, to remain eligible to remain in the country.“It doesn’t make sense for people,” she said. “They don’t want to sign up for a five-year PhD program when they’re data scientists, use machine learning every day, and already have a master’s degree.”Goldman warned that thousands of highly skilled workers, including many Indian citizens who have repeatedly missed the H-1B lottery, could be left searching for alternative immigration options.She also suggested that large employers may need to rethink how they retain international talent if the proposal goes ahead.“Amazon and Meta and a lot of these companies that relied on this solution to retain the talent that they invested in during the OPT period, that’s not going to be possible anymore, and they’re going to have to think about solutions,” Goldman said.