5 ms·

F1 (student) are strictly non-immigrant visas.

by auganov 6y ago

gregjw 6y ago
Wait, what is a non-immigrant visa?
- 838hhh 6y ago
  You are not expected to stay after the visa expires.
  - 29athrowaway 6y ago
    This definition is inaccurate.
    - 29athrowaway 6y ago
      Let me elaborate. No matter what type of visa you have, if you overstay, you will be out of status. The difference between these visa types is that one can be used to apply for a change of status to permanent resident (green card) and the other does not. If you want to get a green card and you have a non-immigrant visa, you have to apply to an immigrant visa first. There are exceptions but for temporary workers this is the case.
- auganov 6y ago
  A visa that grants entry for some purpose on a temporary basis. As opposed to immigrant visas that can be converted to a green card. After your study is over you're supposed to go home [0]. Generally when applying for a non-immigrant visa you want to show that you have a good reason to go back home. Otherwise you'll probably be denied. Say I had an F1 and now it's long expired. Have a standard B1/B2 now. If I wish to immigrate to the US this doesn't help me in any way. Other than just being in good standing with them I guess. [0] or you could get some other visa, but if you're coming in with this intent from the get go this is potentially problematic
- tremon 6y ago
  I assume it is a visa that does not qualify one for naturalization after X years.
htormey 6y ago
F1 is how many H1B students (such as myself) started on our road to becoming an immigrant. A large part of the appeal of an expensive USA graduate course is that it allows you a way to get a job in the USA after. It works like this in tech. 1) Do a masters or > 1 year course in a relevant field. 2) after the course you have 1-3 years of occupational practical training in that field. This means you can apply and accept any relevant job without waiting for a h1b or anything like that. Then from there you get your company to apply for a h1b and then convert to a greencard. Then from greencard you go to citizenship. This was my path. Pressure on universities like this discourages foreign students from enrolling and hence stops or slows this processes.
- auganov 6y ago
  H1B are limited and this doesn't let you skip any lines so doubt it will have much of an effect on net immigration. Other than the very few (well maybe it's common, no idea) people who might get married or qualify for an O-1 and some other more esoteric categories as a student Now I do agree that it might discourage some high quality people from going that route, but that's another story.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - htormey 6y ago
    It’s not about skipping lines. A tech master’s degree allows you to get a job prior to them applying for a h1b via the OPT program. Without that most companies that don’t have overseas offices won’t hire you if you are from countries like India or China. I think these days a masters in CS or a related field allows you up to 3 years of OPT. I.e multiple chances to apply for a H1B visa while working legally in the USA. For more context: Currently theirs about 1 million f1 students in the USA and about ~500k h1b holders. Roughly 223k applied and got OPT in 2019. More figures can be found here: https://www.cato.org/blog/facts-about-optional-practical-training-opt-foreign-students https://www.cato.org/blog/facts-about-optional-practical-tra...
    - 6y ago

F1 (student) are strictly non-immigrant visas.

gregjw 6y ago

Wait, what is a non-immigrant visa?

838hhh 6y ago
You are not expected to stay after the visa expires.
- 29athrowaway 6y ago
  This definition is inaccurate.
  - 29athrowaway 6y ago
    Let me elaborate. No matter what type of visa you have, if you overstay, you will be out of status. The difference between these visa types is that one can be used to apply for a change of status to permanent resident (green card) and the other does not. If you want to get a green card and you have a non-immigrant visa, you have to apply to an immigrant visa first. There are exceptions but for temporary workers this is the case.
auganov 6y ago
A visa that grants entry for some purpose on a temporary basis. As opposed to immigrant visas that can be converted to a green card. After your study is over you're supposed to go home [0]. Generally when applying for a non-immigrant visa you want to show that you have a good reason to go back home. Otherwise you'll probably be denied. Say I had an F1 and now it's long expired. Have a standard B1/B2 now. If I wish to immigrate to the US this doesn't help me in any way. Other than just being in good standing with them I guess. [0] or you could get some other visa, but if you're coming in with this intent from the get go this is potentially problematic
tremon 6y ago
I assume it is a visa that does not qualify one for naturalization after X years.

htormey 6y ago

F1 is how many H1B students (such as myself) started on our road to becoming an immigrant. A large part of the appeal of an expensive USA graduate course is that it allows you a way to get a job in the USA after. It works like this in tech. 1) Do a masters or > 1 year course in a relevant field. 2) after the course you have 1-3 years of occupational practical training in that field. This means you can apply and accept any relevant job without waiting for a h1b or anything like that. Then from there you get your company to apply for a h1b and then convert to a greencard. Then from greencard you go to citizenship. This was my path. Pressure on universities like this discourages foreign students from enrolling and hence stops or slows this processes.

auganov 6y ago
H1B are limited and this doesn't let you skip any lines so doubt it will have much of an effect on net immigration. Other than the very few (well maybe it's common, no idea) people who might get married or qualify for an O-1 and some other more esoteric categories as a student Now I do agree that it might discourage some high quality people from going that route, but that's another story.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- htormey 6y ago
  It’s not about skipping lines. A tech master’s degree allows you to get a job prior to them applying for a h1b via the OPT program. Without that most companies that don’t have overseas offices won’t hire you if you are from countries like India or China. I think these days a masters in CS or a related field allows you up to 3 years of OPT. I.e multiple chances to apply for a H1B visa while working legally in the USA. For more context: Currently theirs about 1 million f1 students in the USA and about ~500k h1b holders. Roughly 223k applied and got OPT in 2019. More figures can be found here: https://www.cato.org/blog/facts-about-optional-practical-training-opt-foreign-students https://www.cato.org/blog/facts-about-optional-practical-tra...
  - 6y ago