Many graduating international students are facing uncertain career futures after entering a lottery to receive coveted H-1B work visas, especially since the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced April 3 that applications for the visas had exceeded the cap after only one day.
Chris Chan '07, who has been hired to work for Morgan Stanley after graduation, is still waiting to hear whether he will be allowed to stay in the United States. First his application must be chosen in the lottery, and then he must pass additional screening.
"It doesn't make sense to keep foreign workers who can add value to American firms from working here," Chan said.
Chan hopes to find out within the next two weeks if he has been selected for an H-1B visa, which allow skilled foreign workers to be employed in the United States. The visa lasts a maximum of six years. If he fails to win the visa, he will be deported in April of 2008.
This year, a record-setting 123,480 applications for H-1B visas were submitted after the first two days of the application period. The quota for H-1B visas is locked at 65,000, with 6,800 already set aside for workers from Chile and Singapore.
In the past, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reviewed applications on a rolling basis. But this year, for the first time ever, the bureau employed a lottery to select recipients of the H-1B.
"I think [the competition is] only going to get worse, what with grads from India and China wanting to come to the U.S.," Chan said.
Nedko Kyuchukov '07 faces a similar predicament. JP Morgan hired Kyuchukov as an investment bank analyst but he is still waiting to hear whether or not he has been chosen for the H-1B visa.
"It's discouraging," Kyuchukov explained. "It tells you you're not really welcome here. This makes you rethink things."
If they do not receive H-1B visas, both Chan and Kyuchukov will be placed in offices abroad. Kyuchukov hopes to be placed in London, where the process for skilled workers to obtain visas is easier. The lottery for visas is more problematic for students who are going to work for smaller firms that do not have foreign affiliates. These students will have to find different employment.
In an April 24 op-ed published in The Dartmouth, Chan criticized the cap on H-1B visas. He said the piece was intended to bring the situation he faced to the attention of all Dartmouth students, but most importantly to younger international students who may be affected by the rules in the future.
Chan said he was pleased with the two published responses to his article and with the resulting discussions.
"It's nice to hear people talk about this," Chan said.
While some international students continue to cross their fingers, others have already received their H-1B visas. Yang Yang '07 had an attorney file his application on the first day possible and received a visa shortly afterwards.
"I got lucky," Yang said. "It's like winning the lottery."
Only students who have already graduated fulfill the requirements for the H-1B visa. Yang graduated early, at the end of the winter term. International students who receive an H-1B visa and are still enrolled at Dartmouth have 90 days to prove that they have graduated, providing ample time to finish their Spring term.
The International Office declined to comment on the predicament, but said in an e-mail that the gravity of the visa issue fluctuates from year to year, and that international students should contact an immigration attorney after they graduate.
