Last year, the number of international students attending American universities stood at just over one million—a staggering figure reflective of the country’s draw as an educational hub. Through tuition, transportation, and other spending, this group brought a whopping $40 billion to the economy. If given the chance, many of these students would stay in the country indefinitely, magnifying the monetary fruits of their presence by joining the workforce long-term.
However, that is not the case. Only 11 percent of international students who receive bachelor’s degrees stay in the United States post-graduation. With these valuable assets to the workforce leaving in droves, the United States fails to reap the full economic benefits of its universities. Yet the exodus of international students is a problem of the country’s own making: The outflow is caused by a bogged-down visa process and exacerbated by prevalent but imprudent domestic concerns. To address this problem, the United States should implement a specialized, streamlined visa track for international graduates of American universities, setting up the talent pool and the economy for sustained growth.
Obtaining authorization to work as an international student in the United States can be daunting and fraught with challenges and uncertainties. One avenue is Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows students to work during and after college. However, students must be mindful of using their OPT time wisely. Any time spent working before graduating is deducted from the post-graduation period—disadvantaging students for whom it is a financial necessity to remain employed throughout college. Even with OPT in tow, international students are only afforded between one and three years to obtain an employer-sponsored visa before their time in the United States runs out.
These employer-sponsored visas provide international students with the opportunity to work in the United States after graduating—though only for a fleeting period. Among these, the H-1B visa—randomly issued to skilled workers with at least a bachelor’s degree—is the most popular. Yet, only 85,000 H-1B visas are issued each year, and they have a maximum duration of six years. Alternatively, the O-1 visa, colloquially termed the “genius visa,” is gaining popularity among those with extraordinary abilities in various fields. However, since it requires a demonstration of sustained international or national acclaim, the O-1 visa is not accessible to the vast majority of prospective applicants. Visas offering permanent residency in the United States, like those of the EB class, have even higher standards for obtention.
This labyrinthine system is antiquated and in desperate need of reform. Despite the growing number of applicants for the sought-after H-1B visa, Congress has not raised the cap on recipients in 30 years. Such stringency prompts a brain drain of valuable college graduates. This not only harms the future of the US economy but also wastes resources: Although international students pay full tuition at public universities, tax dollars are nonetheless spent on their education. When international students graduate and leave the country shortly thereafter, taxpayers accrue no benefit from that expense.
Efforts to improve the American visa process have thus far been grossly inadequate. In February 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enacted reforms aimed at increasing the efficiency of the H-1B visa application system. However, the changes mainly sought to prevent multiple employers from submitting petitions for the same person. Another recent DHS reform provides a digital option for visa applicants—accompanied by massive filing fee increases for companies wishing to sponsor international students. Existing visa reforms thus lack any real utility for international students seeking to stay in the United States.
Political contestations have mystified the possibility of reforming the visa quandary more substantively. Anti-immigration sentiments in the United States continue to exacerbate the difficulties of getting a visa. During his four years in the Oval Office, former President Donald Trump fanned the flames of conservative factions concerned with national security and protecting American jobs—in addition to employing xenophobic rhetoric, he implemented restrictive policies like the Muslim travel ban and the crackdown on asylum seekers. Moreover, between 2016 and 2020, the United States drastically reduced the number of green cards issued from 309,000 to a meager 29,000. Despite campaigning on a platform of reform, President Joe Biden has been slow to make changes to immigration policies as an unfortunate result of the situation at the US-Mexico border. The record-high influx of asylum seekers from the south has heightened domestic fears about mass immigration, pushing the Biden administration to further restrict immigration policy.
Dismayed by this lack of progress, educated hopefuls have turned to other Western nations with simpler visa processes—a fact these countries take advantage of. Canada explicitly advertises its Express Entry program to people who have grown tired of the complicated American system. Likewise, Australia promotes its Global Talent visa at US universities to recruit skilled workers. By targeting highly educated post-grads regardless of their employment status, other countries enjoy the benefits of US investments in higher education.
Instead of allowing misguided anti-immigrant sentiments to obscure the need for reforms, the United States should take a leaf from other nations’ books. Raising the H-1B visa cap would allow the outdated lottery system to keep up with the growing number of skilled international graduates. In addition to increasing visa ceilings, the United States should create a pathway to residency similar to Canada’s express visa program. This would allow the United States to retain skilled workers in fields experiencing labor shortages, such as computer science, and increase human capital in the workforce.
Politicians who advocate for recognizing the contributions of immigrants to society should point to the challenges faced by international students as evidence of the pressing need for visa reform. If conservatives in Congress are unwilling to raise the H-1B visa cap and provide streamlined alternatives for social reasons, perhaps they need to be confronted with the economic reality: Countries like Canada and Australia are outperforming the United States at recruiting skilled workers by offering simpler visa options. It is time for the United States to put its taxpayer dollars to good use and get its competitive edge back in attracting and retaining global talent.