December 3, 2022
Why Do So Many International Students Leave the US?
By Lisa Herforth-Hebbert
There are nearly 1 million international students in the United States. Most want to stay in the country after graduation, yet less than half are able to do so.
Eve Alas Moran, a recent Hofstra University graduate, came to the United States to pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer—a career, she says, that does not exist in her home country of El Salvador. “I made one of the hardest choices,” said Moran. Now, however, she worries that she may be forced to leave the US, giving up everything she has worked for over the past few years.
According to a report from the Institute of International Education and the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, there are nearly 1 million international students studying in the United States. When a student comes from another country, they attend college with an F-1 visa. As long as they are sponsored by a school, they cannot be deported, and after graduation, they are allowed one to three years of work experience in the US, sponsored by the school they attended. Their F-1 student visa then becomes an Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa, allowing them to stay in the country if they have an approved job related to their field of study.
But once their time is up, international students are expected to return home. According to NSF, 77 percent of international students expressed intent to remain in the United States and work after the conclusion of their OPT. However, only 46 perent were able to do so. A survey from Interstride, a platform that supports international students pursuing higher education, found that “most international students in the US want to stay after graduation but worry about getting a job.”
