How International Students in the United States Are Navigating an Increasingly Hostile Post-Study Employment Landscape
During the past year, the Trump administration has taken several steps that are having a significant impact on international students in the United States who want to remain in the country to work after their graduation: The administration has overhauled the H-1B program, implementing a $100,000 fee for new applicants and a new wage-based lottery system. The Department of Homeland Security has indefinitely paused application processing for people from 39 countries. And administration officials have floated changes to the Optional Practical Training program.
A recent story from The New York Times features several international students in the Unites States, shedding light on their experience as they navigate new, daunting obstacles and make decisions about their futures.
One student profiled in the piece is Ghazal Rastegar, who graduated in December from a PhD program at the University of Texas-Dallas. Before graduating, Rastegar had secured a job at a U.S. lab to continue her research on lessening the long-term side effects of chemotherapy in children with cancer. However, since Rastegar is Iranian, she's subject to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processing pause instituted by the Trump administration and has been unable to start work in the lab. She's now looking for jobs in Europe and Asia.
“American taxpayer money has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for my PhD,” Rastegar shares in the interview. “I just wanted to give back a little.”
