The plight of your visa-seeking international grads may best be summed up in this quote, “Given the choice between a prostate exam and sponsoring a work visa, hiring managers will probably choose the former.”
Zeke Hernandez, a Wharton School professor and author of The Truth About Immigration, gave us a good chuckle with that one when we read it in an August 2024 issue of The Economist. It’s funny because it’s true as the meme goes.
In an analysis done by ed tech company F1 Hire, only 1.6% of the 1.5 million job postings analyzed had sponsorship-friendly language in the job description. This research was part of Intead’s Connecting Dots report How International Students are Finding US Jobs, published in May. If you haven’t seen it yet, find it here. Our analysis of US Department of Labor data and proprietary data from F1 Hire offers job market insights you won’t find anywhere else.
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Understanding career pathways for international students is an increasingly necessary topic for those of us who advocate for and work on behalf of this valuable and important student population. In fact, 84% of international students cite career advancement as their top motivator for studying abroad. And >99% believe it’s why their families want them to study abroad (source: Intead’s Know Your Neighborhood 2024 report).
But it’s so much more than that. These bright, highly skilled students are a crucial part of the economy. As pointed out in a recent Economist article, immigrants account for 14% of the US population yet are responsible for 36% of the country’s total innovation. It makes sense why. They bring not just knowledge, but new ideas, perspectives, and networks that help shape their work environments. Global perspectives, ideas, and connections benefit everyone.
At Intead we need only look up from our own desks to see the positive impact of multinational teams (and to our case studies for bottom-line proof of results). We expect many of you are fortunate enough to work in similar environments. We are all better for it as individuals. Our work product is stronger as well.
The Biden Administration offered a bit of good news for international students earlier this year when they issued guidance making it easier for foreign graduates of American academic institutions to get work authorization. But it’s a small gesture that will likely have minimal impact. Still, we welcome the forward motion.
Read on for ways your institution can improve career connections for your students...
As you likely know all too well, to get an H-1B visa, the kind your F1 students may one day pursue, they must find an employer willing to sponsor them. This can be tricky because the process is bureaucratic, lengthy, and a bit of a long shot. As reported in the above-referenced The Economist piece, a review by Jun Chen of Renmin University and others looked at 17,000 US-based startups between 2003 and 2016. More than one-third petitioned for at least one H-1B visa yet barely half of those applying were granted the visas they wanted.
The real kicker: getting more visas improved a firm’s financial performance, likelihood of going public, and quantity and quality of innovation. So, tell us again why are we making it so hard to fold international students into the US job market?
Other countries seem to get it. Obtaining a work visa is comparatively easy in Canada, Sweden, and the UAE for instance. And graduates of Danish universities automatically get a three-year work permit. Meanwhile, the US immigration system continues to challenge employers and would-be employees alike with high costs of sponsorship and stagnant H-1B quotas.
A poll conducted by thinktank Economic Innovation Group shows 73% of foreign graduates of US universities say they would stay in the US if visas were readily available. Ultimately, only 41% end up doing so. Difficult immigration policies may be a chief reason why over the past 20 years the US has lost market share to competing markets. Per a HolonIQ analysis, the US has lost almost 20% market share of tertiary-level international students to Australia, Canada, and the UK – costing the US 350,000 students and $20 billion.
However, imagining a world without barriers to cross-border entry, data from a very cool Gallup World Poll suggests the US would gain 23 million graduates, Canada 17 million, and Australia 9 million, while China and India would likely lose the largest number of graduates (14 million and 12 million respectively).
Despite the hurdles in the short- and long-terms, international students continue to seek US degrees in relatively large numbers. And, as you well know, these students are heavily focused on their future careers. Here is the clear international student recruitment tip: Showing them how a degree from your university can help get them the future they want will move them from prospective student to enrolled student.
Here’s what it takes:
- Invest in concerted, consistent efforts to provide career support to international students. That means far more than resume and cover letter guidance. Find the employers interested in your graduates. Build relationships with their hiring/recruiting teams. Create opportunities for connections between your students and those teams. Build your alumni network with a focus on career (in addition to your institution’s fundraising efforts).
- Create website and lead nurture content (testimonials, videos, etc.) with your recent and relatable international alumni that tangibly demonstrates the career path prospective students want.
- Show them where they are most likely to find US jobs. And yes, this data now exists (see our Connecting Dots report). For instance, we now know states like New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, and Montana boast the highest ratio of H-1B jobs per international student attending universities in those states. (Regional schools are you paying attention?) Our data shows that North Carolina, Michigan, and Virginia demonstrate a high proportion of international student-friendly employers as well.
- Prepare them to launch. Just as you likely helped support these students through the F1 visa process, provide information on how the student and the employer can tackle the H-1B process.
You see the obstacles ahead for your career-minded international students and are in the fortunate position to offer them concrete and much needed help. Smooth that path. Need a partner in thinking through your international student strategy? You know where to find us: info@intead.com.
