“We are sorry but we were not fully aware that you are an international student. We cannot offer this position to candidates with your status at this moment. Your skills and breadth of experience is truly impressive, though.”
This kind of response is not uncommon among international students seeking employment in America. Many of my international friends and I have continuously faced situations where we have already passed the dreaded vetting process at our dream companies or corporations, only to be told that these companies cannot issue an offer since they just realized that we are not citizens or permanent residents of this country. It is difficult to find a good job these days upon graduation, but it is perhaps two or three times harder for international students to land a job here in America.
For international students, our process seeking for any kinds of employment in America, is often quite daunting. International students’ declared majors are required to be directly related to the positions for which we are applying. Therefore, this seemingly instinctive choice of a major comes with tangible consequences.
Unlike domestic students who have the freedom to branch out, international students, who wish to work in America, are legally obligated to stay within their comfort zones. International students’ majors will also later dictate a student’s length of stay/employment. For instance, international students in S.T.E.M. fields can work in America for up to two to three years as compared with other international degree-holders who are only allowed full-time employment for a year.
With all of this in mind, “experiment with different avenues,” “choose to major in what you love,” and many other conventional pieces of advice are not always applicable for international students as we make numerous sacrifices to strategize our career advancement plans.
Even when an international student has spent the short initial year(s) of working in America, the future looks uncertain as more paperwork, more competition, more anxiety emerges as one seeks to renew their work permit after certain length of stay. Especially with the current changing policies here in America, it is impossible to see any stability in a plan to remain in this country as a foreigner.
I am a privileged individual who has, and also prefers, the option of returning home to start building my career. However, there are many reasons other international students wish to remain in America for work, including ones who cannot afford to go home since their families had given up much of their wealth for their children’s American education. Some countries simply do not have the infrastructure to support what international students desire to do upon their return home. Others want to stay in America because this country, despite its many flaws and occasional hostility, has become a home which they simply do not wish to leave.
For whatever reason it is that international students want to remain in America after graduation, they deserve a fair chance to seek out employment, not just for their own gain, but also for this country’s own growth.
The breadth of experience and the amount of adversity international students champion is simply amazing. These experiences, whether positive, negative or just downright odd, have built us into adaptable, skillful, strong and unstoppable individuals. International students should have utmost confidence in their ability to relocate and contribute their talents elsewhere, may it be their home country or another more welcoming nation. In short, we slay, whenever, wherever, and it most certainly does not have to be in America.
Melany Le a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at LLe18@wooster.edu.