4 ms·

At least in the US, rich foreign students shelling out big sums for US universities is one of the few legitimate paths towards immigration. You're paying 150-25

At least in the US, rich foreign students shelling out big sums for US universities is one of the few legitimate paths towards immigration. You're paying 150-250k worth of access to an F1, CPT, OPT, a more streamlined path into the H-1B world, followed by permanent residency. You get to work for a US employer for a few years without having to bother with the lottery, while also applying to an H-1B at the same time. I believe this is most viable in the STEM degrees. My hunch is that getting hired into the US as an H-1B from abroad is more difficult since you don't know how interviewing in the US works, you can't easily fly out to dozens of interviews to set up a competitive bidding process, etc. For others it's a way to build status back in the home country by having attended a US university, and then go back. For others it's just a way to hang out in the country, while paying someone else to do all of the exam-taking for them. The wealthy Chinese-dense "626 area" in SoCal comes to mind as one of the big offenders in this underworld. They don't even show up to class, someone else does. There's no incentive for universities to police this, why bite the hand that feeds? The school gets a few hundred k in revenue, the wealthy student gets to live in the US for a few years, have fun. It's a win win, even though it corrupts the point of an F1 visa. Unlike H-1Bs, I don't think they're limited, so at least it's not a zero-sum game where some other "more deserving" students are screwed out of a place. Just like decoupling health care from employment is a good idea, decoupling for-profit education from immigration seems like a good call as well. Unless we're on board with immigration being pay-to-play, vs using other markers besides family net worth in order to gate keep.

ThomPete 7y ago
Its actually part of the problem. They make it harder for US students to get a proper education. Universities are acting like the housing market in big cities. Only the elite from the test world can afford going there and then they often go back contributing trump the US. I hope this will stop that practice. We should want foreign students but not based on the current criteria and structure.
thawaway1837 7y ago
Rights so the Chinese pay hundreds of thousands of do,Lara so they can get F1 jobs (restricted largely to on campus or has to be study related, so it doesn’t pay), OPT jobs (capped at 1 year) or H1B jobs (needs to be renewed every year, at least by the Chinese who rarely get more than a 1 year extension), so they can get permanent residency after 10-15 years of being on an H1 based on current figures. Right, that makes complete sense.
- yardie 7y ago
  I see a large population of SE Asian students at a university nearby. I honestly have no idea why they are here. The university is an expensive, private school. The campus isn’t particularly beautiful. Just an office park. And it’s not even ranked that high. I’m befuddled why anyone would choose to go to a low tier university in an expensive city. The only thing that comes to mind is getting an American visa. Because simply having a prestigious degree from a no name uni does not make sense. Many years ago a friend’s family offered me $30k to marry her so she could get her green card. If students are spending upwards of $200k for a shot at a H1b than that marriage would have been a bargain in comparison. She’s happily married now with kids. And her spouse did not magically become $30k richer for it.
  - thawaway1837 7y ago
    Marketing. And the fact that they are likely better than the universities most people would be exposed to in their home countries anyways, where the competition to get into the few decent schools is far more fierce. The not so good universities spend a ton of money on marketing. And some very good universities do too. The American education brand was strong a decade ago, so any American university would be considered good. Further, people outside the US are often surprised by how many scams are prevalent in the US. The general belief used to be that the US was a largely sensible country where people did things the right way.
- tuankiet65 7y ago
  > OPT jobs (capped at 1 year) Minor nitpick, you get two years of extension if you graduate with a STEM degree.
  - thawaway1837 7y ago
    Only if your employer has already applied for your H1B. It’s 1 and a half year, and the reason it exists is (a) most students graduate and start jobs after the current year’s H1B process is already over, and (b) if you don’t get your employment visa in the first round (since it’s capped at 60k), then they want to give you a second chance.
Merrill 7y ago
The most efficient path seemed to be a BS in the home country, followed by an MS in the US, followed by employment in the US. The result is a lot of foreign students in grad school getting their ticket punched, while US students go on to work with a BS.
paxys 7y ago
US Education isn't a path to citizenship or even an H-1B visa. Even after getting a 4-year degree from a top American university, you are still competing for a visa slot with tens of thousands of minimum wage applications from overseas consulting firms. And that's assuming you get a job offer right out of college with someone willing to sponsor you. Then you'll have to go through the visa lottery (<15% chance of selection), and after that wait in the green card line (up to 20-30 years now for Indian and Chinese citizens). Those with the means can purchase US citizenship much more directly - for example look up the investor visa.
- koheripbal 7y ago
  This is not accurate. If you are physically here on a student visa and you land a job with a large corporate that is willing to sponsor you (which is common for graduates with tech degrees or from ivy league schools), then you do _not_ need to enter the lottery for your visa. Many many fellow engineering students went down this road with me - all are US citizens now.
  - paxys 7y ago
    Nope, that is incorrect. You can start working on an OPT work permit (which will have a duration of 12 months with a potential 24 month extension for certain fields), but after that the company WILL have to apply for a H-1B through the lottery.
    - koheripbal 7y ago
      The corporate sponsored H1-Bs are not a lottery - they are first come - first serve up to the quota for the year. It's almost guaranteed that you'll get it if you get your application in early in the year.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

ThomPete 7y ago

Its actually part of the problem. They make it harder for US students to get a proper education. Universities are acting like the housing market in big cities. Only the elite from the test world can afford going there and then they often go back contributing trump the US. I hope this will stop that practice. We should want foreign students but not based on the current criteria and structure.

thawaway1837 7y ago

Rights so the Chinese pay hundreds of thousands of do,Lara so they can get F1 jobs (restricted largely to on campus or has to be study related, so it doesn’t pay), OPT jobs (capped at 1 year) or H1B jobs (needs to be renewed every year, at least by the Chinese who rarely get more than a 1 year extension), so they can get permanent residency after 10-15 years of being on an H1 based on current figures. Right, that makes complete sense.

yardie 7y ago
I see a large population of SE Asian students at a university nearby. I honestly have no idea why they are here. The university is an expensive, private school. The campus isn’t particularly beautiful. Just an office park. And it’s not even ranked that high. I’m befuddled why anyone would choose to go to a low tier university in an expensive city. The only thing that comes to mind is getting an American visa. Because simply having a prestigious degree from a no name uni does not make sense. Many years ago a friend’s family offered me $30k to marry her so she could get her green card. If students are spending upwards of $200k for a shot at a H1b than that marriage would have been a bargain in comparison. She’s happily married now with kids. And her spouse did not magically become $30k richer for it.
- thawaway1837 7y ago
  Marketing. And the fact that they are likely better than the universities most people would be exposed to in their home countries anyways, where the competition to get into the few decent schools is far more fierce. The not so good universities spend a ton of money on marketing. And some very good universities do too. The American education brand was strong a decade ago, so any American university would be considered good. Further, people outside the US are often surprised by how many scams are prevalent in the US. The general belief used to be that the US was a largely sensible country where people did things the right way.
tuankiet65 7y ago
> OPT jobs (capped at 1 year) Minor nitpick, you get two years of extension if you graduate with a STEM degree.
- thawaway1837 7y ago
  Only if your employer has already applied for your H1B. It’s 1 and a half year, and the reason it exists is (a) most students graduate and start jobs after the current year’s H1B process is already over, and (b) if you don’t get your employment visa in the first round (since it’s capped at 60k), then they want to give you a second chance.

Merrill 7y ago

The most efficient path seemed to be a BS in the home country, followed by an MS in the US, followed by employment in the US. The result is a lot of foreign students in grad school getting their ticket punched, while US students go on to work with a BS.

paxys 7y ago

US Education isn't a path to citizenship or even an H-1B visa. Even after getting a 4-year degree from a top American university, you are still competing for a visa slot with tens of thousands of minimum wage applications from overseas consulting firms. And that's assuming you get a job offer right out of college with someone willing to sponsor you. Then you'll have to go through the visa lottery (<15% chance of selection), and after that wait in the green card line (up to 20-30 years now for Indian and Chinese citizens). Those with the means can purchase US citizenship much more directly - for example look up the investor visa.

koheripbal 7y ago
This is not accurate. If you are physically here on a student visa and you land a job with a large corporate that is willing to sponsor you (which is common for graduates with tech degrees or from ivy league schools), then you do _not_ need to enter the lottery for your visa. Many many fellow engineering students went down this road with me - all are US citizens now.
- paxys 7y ago
  Nope, that is incorrect. You can start working on an OPT work permit (which will have a duration of 12 months with a potential 24 month extension for certain fields), but after that the company WILL have to apply for a H-1B through the lottery.
  - koheripbal 7y ago
    The corporate sponsored H1-Bs are not a lottery - they are first come - first serve up to the quota for the year. It's almost guaranteed that you'll get it if you get your application in early in the year.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]