‘H1-B lottery rates are very high’: Indian students may face tougher road to finding jobs in US under new visa rules, CEO says

Danielle Goldman, CEO and co-founder of Build, said proposed changes to U.S. student visa rules could make it more difficult for international graduates, especially those from India, to stay and work in the U.S. after completing their studies. Goldman Sachs warned that the proposal could exacerbate labor shortages in key fields such as artificial intelligence, technology and engineering by reducing the current pathways for many international students to stay and develop careers in the United States, according to American Marketplace.Concerns center on a proposal released last month by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under the current system, most international students on F-1 visas are admitted under a “duration of status” policy, which allows them to remain in the United States while maintaining student status and meeting visa requirements.The proposed rules would replace this arrangement with a fixed period of residence of up to four years. Students who need more time to complete their studies or participate in a post-graduation work plan must seek approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).Talking about the potential impact, Goldman Sachs said Indian students could be one of the worst-affected groups as they have one of the largest international student communities in the United States and are heavily involved H-1B visa system.“Indian students are one of the largest student populations in the United States,” Goldman said.“They get jobs, they work in schools, they get companies to say, ‘Yes, we will sponsor you,’ and they enter the H-1B lottery at very high rates,” she said.Many international graduates take advantage of Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs to gain work experience after college. During this period, employers often invested in training and developing talent while sponsoring workers to participate in the H-1B visa lottery.However, not all applicants are selected. Goldman Sachs noted that when H-1B sponsorship efforts fail, many companies have traditionally relied on other options to retain skilled workers.One of the most common pathways is the First Day CPT course, which allows some students to continue working legally while enrolled in another academic course. Goldman Sachs said major employers often encourage workers to use this option if they are unsuccessful in obtaining H-1B visas.She believes the proposed rule would limit that avenue.Under the new framework, students who have completed a degree at a certain academic level will generally not be able to enroll in another course at the same level simply to maintain work authorization.“For anyone who already has a master’s degree, they won’t be able to go back and say, ‘I need another master’s degree because I need work authorization to continue working,'” Goldman said.Instead, some workers may have to study for higher qualifications, such as a PhD, to remain eligible to stay in the country.“It just doesn’t make sense to people. They don’t want to sign up for a five-year PhD program when they’re a data scientist, they’re using machine learning every day, and they already have a master’s degree,” she said.Goldman Sachs has warned that thousands of high-skilled workers, including many Indian nationals who have repeatedly missed out on the H-1B lottery, may be forced to look for alternative immigration options.She also suggested that if the proposal progresses, major employers may need to rethink how they retain international talent.“Amazon and Meta and the many companies that rely on this solution to retain the talent they invested in during OPT will no longer be possible and they will have to consider solutions,” Goldman Sachs said.