Biggest Pet Peeve on being on a F1 Student Visa

[SouthAfrican&Proud]

Hi all,

 

I just wanted a forum to gripe and grime about the 'trials and tribulations' of being on a F1 student visa.  If you are inspired to share your biggest pet peeve (or as many as you like because that list can be endless) on the supposed coveted joys of reaching F1 platinum student status, feel free to share your diamond starred experiences here.

 

Personally, my top 3 pet peeves are in order of smallest to biggest:

 

1. Limited to working 20 hours/week during school semesters.  Sometimes 20 hours just isn't enough to cover the bills and as a student (particularly in a recovering job market) it isn't always easy to find part time employment that lines up perfectly with your academic major.  At times putting in some extra hours at McDee's is needed for supplemental income but your options are limited and then your stuck competing for on campus jobs that are quickly gobbled up by perm. residents and citizens getting first dibs.

 

2. OPT limited to 1 year.  Finding a company that's willing to hire and sponsor you on an H1B within 12 months of graduating is easier said than done (particularly when the odds are stacked against you and the company can easily bypass this hassle and simply hire a perm resident/citizen).  Which brings me to my 3rd point...

 

3. Having to pursue another degree to remain in the country because points 1 and 2 didn't work out and your options back home are less than stellar to put it politely.  So the cycle invariably continues with one going to school, coming out with  a highly qualified set of credentials, skills and experiences only to struggle to find permanent employment.  Sigh, shake head, contemplate leaving the country and/or marrying an American citizen and then repeat steps 1, 2 and 3.  At some point along this journey you might even earn 3 masters and 1 or 2 PhD's before you finally strike gold or simply agree to call it quits.  Thankfully I have not reached that point yet, and I mean I know it's a student visa, but at some point people something's gotta give.  However it would be interesting to see some statistical sampling study of the average number of advanced degrees per current or previous F1 students relative to those in the population with at least a bachelor's degree.  My guess is it would be slightly larger with the former group.

 

At any rate, those are my top 3.  What has your experience been like?

Edited February 23, 2014 by SouthAfrican&Proud

[paladin_av]

My top one would be paying taxes. 

 

Such a complicated process. None of the major tax websites have forms for international students to fill up online. For someone reason, my scholarships are taxable ?! the list goes on and on regarding tax issues. 

[aberrant]

I'm not sure if these are legitimate pet peeves because when you apply for a specific visa, there are requirements that one needs to be reached and agreed upon.

 

1. Limited to working 20 hours/week during school semesters.  Sometimes 20 hours just isn't enough to cover the bills and as a student (particularly in a recovering job market) it isn't always easy to find part time employment that lines up perfectly with your academic major.  At times putting in some extra hours at McDee's is needed for supplemental income but your options are limited and then your stuck competing for on campus jobs that are quickly gobbled up by perm. residents and citizens getting first dibs.

 

1. Your F1 visa granted your status as a student. To make it very simple for you:

- If you are a PhD student (or financially supported MS student), then income shouldn't be a problem because your program covers your tuition fees (typically waived) and give you enough stipend for living expense.

- If you are a undergraduate or a self-funded MS student, then you are expected to come into the States with sufficient funding that can cover your tuition, fees, and living expenses without the necessity of earning extra income.

 

As an international student who did my undergraduate in the U.S. and now my PhD, as far as I'm concern, the States only welcome foreign students with enough money, if not a wealthy background, to study in the U.S. You want to do more hours and do something different? Go get another VISA. Welcome to America.

 

 

2. OPT limited to 1 year.  Finding a company that's willing to hire and sponsor you on an H1B within 12 months of graduating is easier said than done (particularly when the odds are stacked against you and the company can easily bypass this hassle and simply hire a perm resident/citizen).  Which brings me to my 3rd point...

 

That depends on the field of your study (a.k.a. your major). STEM field is 1.5 years, +1 (or 1.5) years extension. While many companies may not sponsor you for H1B, that would be a different scenario if you study electrical engineering / computer science. Big companies ranging from Google to Qualcomm, as far as I know based on people that I know, are more than happy to recruit internationals and sponsor them with H1B by paying them less money.

 

 

3. Having to pursue another degree to remain in the country because points 1 and 2 didn't work out and your options back home are less than stellar to put it politely.  So the cycle invariably continues with one going to school, coming out with  a highly qualified set of credentials, skills and experiences only to struggle to find permanent employment.  Sigh, shake head, contemplate leaving the country and/or marrying an American citizen and then repeat steps 1, 2 and 3.  At some point along this journey you might even earn 3 masters and 1 or 2 PhD's before you finally strike gold or simply agree to call it quits.  Thankfully I have not reached that point yet, and I mean I know it's a student visa, but at some point people something's gotta give.  However it would be interesting to see some statistical sampling study of the average number of advanced degrees per current or previous F1 students relative to those in the population with at least a bachelor's degree.  My guess is it would be slightly larger with the former group.

 

Your intention to stay in the States directly address why would you have pet peeves / problems with a F1 VISA. Unless you try to do those online master/PhD programs, otherwise, you are very unlikely to get 3 masters or 2 PhDs. If you actually doing a PhD then point 1 wouldn't even exist. If you just wanna stay in the U.S., then either apply for green card lottery, seek asylum, or start a company in the U.S. and apply for a business VISA.

 

 

My top one would be paying taxes. 

 

Such a complicated process. None of the major tax websites have forms for international students to fill up online. For someone reason, my scholarships are taxable ?! the list goes on and on regarding tax issues. 

 

You need Glacier Tax Prep unless you are considered resident for tax purposes.

[TakeruK]

I understand your complaints but I also would agree with aberrant that student visas like F-1 is not intended as a pathway towards permanent residence in America. So, it makes sense that these restrictions are in place!

 

However, it is my opinion that governments should make it easier for foreigners who have finished their PhDs in America to become American citizens. After all, isn't it in the country's best interests to keep the American trained talent in America? Who cares if they were born outside of America? If they intend to stay in America and pay American taxes and contribute to American economy then to me, that is a good American citizen! (At first I was worried I was putting too much "America" in this paragraph but then I decided to just roll with it). 

 

I am not an American though, but recently, Canadian immigration law has been changed to make it harder for foreigners with Canadian PhDs to become Canadian permanent residents, which I think is the opposite of what I'd want Canada to be. For some reason, our current government isn't very supportive of new Canadians. Maybe the "brain drain" problem isn't a big deal in the US but in Canada, we often worry about our best talent moving to the US, yet we pass laws preventing Canadian-trained foreign talent from staying! 

 

So I am sympathetic to the frustration that immigration laws make it very hard to stay in a country where you intend to be a useful, productive member of the society! Also, I am not sure about the wisdom of these restrictive working laws (fine, require F-1s to work on campus, but then don't make on-campus jobs give priority to non-F1s!). 

[spunky]

That depends on the field of your study (a.k.a. your major). STEM field is 1.5 years, +1 (or 1.5) years extension. While many companies may not sponsor you for H1B, that would be a different scenario if you study electrical engineering / computer science. Big companies ranging from Google to Qualcomm, as far as I know based on people that I know, are more than happy to recruit internationals and sponsor them with H1B by paying them less money.

 

 

I was wondering the exact same thing. I was an int'l student a few months ago as well (in Canada) and even I got job offers from the States because I'm in STEM-like program. 

 

 

 

 

And if the OP really, really wants to stay in the U.S. (s)he can always marry an American citizen. #justsayin

Edited March 1, 2014 by spunky

[spunky]

I am not an American though, but recently, Canadian immigration law has been changed to make it harder for foreigners with Canadian PhDs to become Canadian permanent residents, which I think is the opposite of what I'd want Canada to be. For some reason, our current government isn't very supportive of new Canadians. Maybe the "brain drain" problem isn't a big deal in the US but in Canada, we often worry about our best talent moving to the US, yet we pass laws preventing Canadian-trained foreign talent from staying! 

 

 

what has changed considerably? i just got my Permanent Resident status last August and I have to say I found the Canadian immigration system... well, rather easy to navigate. sure, it's lots and lots of paperwork but that was basically it. 

[beccamayworth]

Hah I thought this thread was going to be totally different. My biggest pet peeve is to be called an "alien". lol

[TakeruK]

what has changed considerably? i just got my Permanent Resident status last August and I have to say I found the Canadian immigration system... well, rather easy to navigate. sure, it's lots and lots of paperwork but that was basically it. 

 

Being Canadian, I have not experienced the process myself and only know some things because of what my non-Canadian friends have told me when they considered Canadian permanent residencies. My friends were referring to the quotas and limits on PhD students filing for residencies, which is also summarised:

 

 

Under the new accelerated process, the government will review only 300 applications under each of the 24 eligible occupations, up to a maximum of 5,000 in total per year.

Two years ago, the FSWP was expanded to create a dedicated PhD-candidate stream. The government accepts 1,000 applications from doctoral students, more than triple those of desired professions such as geoscientists and oceanographers, petroleum engineers and medical radiation technologists. 

 

That was taken from this article: http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2014/01/06/immigration_phd_candidates_believe_they_were_systematically_rejected_by_canadas_federal_skilled_worker_program.html which tells the story of two students that failed to make it through the system (I am not sure if their experience is really representative of the system, I was mostly looking for a confirmation of the recent law changes).

 

Also, my friends originally brought up these concerns to me in 2012, when the quotas were first introduced (and were stricter) and it wasn't really clear if the quota was annually or otherwise. I think when these changes were introduced, there was a lot of uncertainty and concern. Fortunately, from reading updates from the government website and from your story, it sounds like a lot of the system has been ironed out and could be working much better now! 

 

I am not sure I agree with having a quota for this class of immigration but if 300/year (or 1000/year for PhD students) is high enough to accommodate the demand and also keep processing times low, then I guess it might be okay!

[spunky]

Being Canadian, I have not experienced the process myself and only know some things because of what my non-Canadian friends have told me when they considered Canadian permanent residencies. My friends were referring to the quotas and limits on PhD students filing for residencies, which is also summarised:

 

 

 

That was taken from this article: http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2014/01/06/immigration_phd_candidates_believe_they_were_systematically_rejected_by_canadas_federal_skilled_worker_program.html which tells the story of two students that failed to make it through the system (I am not sure if their experience is really representative of the system, I was mostly looking for a confirmation of the recent law changes).

 

Also, my friends originally brought up these concerns to me in 2012, when the quotas were first introduced (and were stricter) and it wasn't really clear if the quota was annually or otherwise. I think when these changes were introduced, there was a lot of uncertainty and concern. Fortunately, from reading updates from the government website and from your story, it sounds like a lot of the system has been ironed out and could be working much better now! 

 

I am not sure I agree with having a quota for this class of immigration but if 300/year (or 1000/year for PhD students) is high enough to accommodate the demand and also keep processing times low, then I guess it might be okay!

 

Well, I started off my education *not* being Canadian so I can tell you that I'm pretty well acquainted with the immigration process, given that I had to go through it and jumped all the hoops that were needed before I got my landed immigrant/permanent resident status. Couple of things to say about that...

 

(a) The quota of 1000/year PhD students rarely (*IF* ever) gets filled up. I mean, just think about it. You need to be a non-Canadian student, from a federally-recognized institution (and this is important because there are many graduate programs out there which are not federally-recognized even if the institution itself is federally-recognized), with no financial aid from your home country, with work experience *IN* Canada, *IN* your area of study (so if you did a PhD in say English Literature but you work as a manager for Tim Hortons that doesn't count) AND, with MORE than $11,000 in the bank. And this is a big, big one. If there's less than that in your bank your application gets denied right away. Oh, and  you need to be willing to deal with the immigration process, which a lot of students who come from other industrialized nations are uninterested in doing. So you can weed-down those 1000 slots to maybe 100/200. I mean, I started my process in November 2012. By then I thought it was going to be worthwhile to wait until 2013 because I was almost sure that those 1000 slots had already been filled-up. Do you know which slot I got? #83! Yes, out of 1000 available places, not even 100 had been used up by Nov 2012!

 

( b ) Yes, I'm familiar with that specific piece of news you're quoting. It may suck and we may not like it, but the fact of the matter is that a PhD of someone who specializes in Oil Engineering is gonna get his paperwork moving quite a bit faster than someone who did his PhD in, I dunno, Theatre or Visual Arts. It is just the way it is. I mean, have you looked at the list of the 24 eligible occupations? They can be summarized in one of two groups: either you're an engineer of some sort or you're a health professional. Both students were doing a degree in philosophy of science and technology or something along those lines. I also need to point out that those two students are the *only* cases that have ever made it to the media. And they themselves were the only ones who claimed to be viable candidates, with nobody else double-checking to see if this was true or not. The lawyer I hired to handle my process was very blunt and clear in quite a few things: if your work experience is not in your area, you'll get rejected. if you borrowed the +$11K from some place like a bank or  some other lending institution that you'll need to re-pay, you'll get rejected (AND you need to show where those +$11K came from). if you take money from the +$11K and put it back at ANY point in time, you'll get rejected. The fact of the matter is that immigration is, for lack of a better term, an incredibly finicky, obscure process where even the slightest deviation can result in a rejected application. But then again, if you are the applicant, you're left with no choice but to do whatever they ask you to do. I remember what the immigration officer told us in the (small) ceremony where I got my PR status: becoming a resident of Canada is a privilege that you have to earn. And, oh boy, they make sure you know how much it costs (in terms of money, effort, time, etc.) to earn it. 

Edited March 2, 2014 by spunky

[TakeruK]

Thanks for clarifying the details You're right--it does make sense that it would be tough for them to fill the quota of 1000 PhD candidates given all the requirements! If I understood the info page (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp) right, the PhD student category is a different pathway than being one of the 24 occupations right? 

 

The current page says the quota is measured from May to April and if it was the same in 2012-2013, then you would have only been halfway through that year's quota. Still, I am surprised (and also glad for you) that you were only #83! 

 

I am curious about a few things, from the point of view of someone who has gone through it, if you don't mind!

 

1. Does work performed as a graduate student (TA/RA ships?) count towards the minimum work experience time? For my friends who were in science related fields, 1560 hours over the past 10 years is usually doable within the timeline of a PhD if RAships are counted. Or, would only work at e.g. the postdoctoral level count?

 

2. Do you feel that minimum $11k in the bank is a reasonable amount? Being a Canadian student in Canada and working during undergrad and doing a funded Masters program in Canada did leave me with more than that minimum amount in savings before moving to the US for grad school. So, I personally feel like I probably don't want to move to a whole new country without at least that much in savings for emergencies etc. But do you feel that most international PhD students/newcomers to Canada will be able to have $11k in the bank given the general funding level for PhD students?

 

3. Finally, you said there was a lot of hoops, but do you feel that these hoops were necessary to make sure Canada gets quality people as new permanent residents? Or do you feel that these hoops are more complicated than necessary? i.e. Is the process reasonable and fair, in your opinion?

[spunky]

I feel like we're hijacking the OP's thread so I'll try to be brief here (unless you wanna open our own 'Canada' thread in which case I won't feel as guilty, lol)

 

If I understood the info page (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp) right, the PhD student category is a different pathway than being one of the 24 occupations right? 

 

Yes, it is different. But I guess I wanted to highlight the fact that, in the eyes of immigration officers, certain professions and programs are more desirable than others. Which makes sense... they're in charge of making sure only people who address needs that cannot be addressed by native-born Canadians can take advantage of programs like this. 

 

 

 

1. Does work performed as a graduate student (TA/RA ships?) count towards the minimum work experience time? For my friends who were in science related fields, 1560 hours over the past 10 years is usually doable within the timeline of a PhD if RAships are counted. Or, would only work at e.g. the postdoctoral level count?

 

Yes, it does count. But you need to make sure you're still employed throughout your application process.

 

 

 

2. Do you feel that minimum $11k in the bank is a reasonable amount? Being a Canadian student in Canada and working during undergrad and doing a funded Masters program in Canada did leave me with more than that minimum amount in savings before moving to the US for grad school. So, I personally feel like I probably don't want to move to a whole new country without at least that much in savings for emergencies etc. But do you feel that most international PhD students/newcomers to Canada will be able to have $11k in the bank given the general funding level for PhD students?

 

 

You hit the nail on the head with one key word: you did a funded Masters program. International students do not have as many options for funding coming from Canadian institutions. They do exist but, as you can imagine, they are usually a lot more competitive because citizens, permanent residents and international students are all applying to get them. Quite a few international students usually get partial funding from their own country and partial funding from the Canadian university they're in. That deems them ineligible under the PhD stream. Now, imagine if your Masters hadn't been fully funded and add to that the fact that international students pay 3-4 times the tuition fees that domestic students have. Suddenly, keeping those +$11K in the bank is not as easy as it seems.  I did it because I have trust fund so I just had to do a wire transfer from it to my BMO account. But my program has no funding for international students, so I paid my own way from the beginning until I got my PR status. I can see how this could be impossible for most international graduate students. 

 

 

 

3. Finally, you said there was a lot of hoops, but do you feel that these hoops were necessary to make sure Canada gets quality people as new permanent residents? Or do you feel that these hoops are more complicated than necessary? i.e. Is the process reasonable and fair, in your opinion?

 

Uhm... that's a tricky one. I think there are lots of hoops and paperwork that you need to go through... but that's just it: paperwork. They don't really ask you for anything out the ordinary, but it definitely is an exercise in patience and I do believe they could work a little bit on getting their timing of things better. And no, I don't mean processing cases faster (immigration officers are human, after all, and the amount of cases they need to go through is astronomical) but more on their pacing of things. A general application case (assuming no problems) goes like this: you send in your application... in maybe a few weeks or so you receive your AOR (Acknowledgement Of Receipt) then nothing... no info, no communication, nothing for more than a year... and, suddenly, BAM! you get a letter with a long list of paperwork that you need to get in order to finalize your application. And you need to submit it in say 2 months from the date *specified on the letter. So, like in my case: my letter was dated March 1st of last year. It said I had 2 months for them to receive all the final documents. I physically got my letter on March 20-something. So suddenly those 2 months become like a month and a week or so. And you can't get any paperwork moving because you need that letter (which has important stuff like the barcode associated to your case for your medical exams) before doing anything. So yeah... that's the only real complaint I had... but then again my process was pretty smooth compared to other horror stories I've heard so I guess I was lucky there. 

[TakeruK]

Cool! Thanks for the responses I'll stop hijacking this thread now too, haha. Sorry to the OP and those expecting more F1 stuff, I was just curious!

[VioletAyame]

Ah let's get back to ranting about the F1. I can understand where the OP is coming from. Now I also get that F1 is not intended for residency but there are some legitimate complaints there. For example, I understand why there is a work hours restriction but for international grad students who are partly funded or lacking in summer funding, it makes it very hard for them to pick up summer jobs to fill in that gap, and I don't think we're qualified for student loans either. I think most of us at the graduate level are serious about our study and are not using the F1 as a shortcut for illegal jobs, and a little bit of flexibility would go a long way. And regarding OPT, I know STEM fields get the extra time as it reflects what the US job market desires and it's only fair, but sometimes it sucks for the non-tech-or-maths-gifted people not to have any love! Also, considering the economy right now and the difficult H1B process, not a lot of F1 holders can make it through anyway, why not give us 2 years or so to have time to find a job and build our resumes before we leave? 

 

Now my biggest pet peeves is actually the travel restriction side effects that come with the F1. I know for other countries that expiration date of their F1 can be longer depending on their treaties, but for my country, the F1 is valid for only 1 year. Now I'm eligible to stay as long as I'm a full-time student in the program stated in my I-20, which is not hard to do, but after that 1 year, if I set foot outside the US (except for Canada and Mexico) I have to pay a fee to renew my visa to be able to enter again. Not to mention while technically I can do that at a US embassy in the country to which I travel, they strongly recommend doing it in my home country and there's no guarantee otherwise. So in order to ensure I can get back to continue my program, I would have to plan to travel within 1 year since my visa is granted or fly back to my home country to have it renewed. So inconvenient.

 

 

I understand your complaints but I also would agree with aberrant that student visas like F-1 is not intended as a pathway towards permanent residence in America. So, it makes sense that these restrictions are in place!

 

However, it is my opinion that governments should make it easier for foreigners who have finished their PhDs in America to become American citizens. After all, isn't it in the country's best interests to keep the American trained talent in America? Who cares if they were born outside of America? If they intend to stay in America and pay American taxes and contribute to American economy then to me, that is a good American citizen! (At first I was worried I was putting too much "America" in this paragraph but then I decided to just roll with it). 

 

I am not an American though, but recently, Canadian immigration law has been changed to make it harder for foreigners with Canadian PhDs to become Canadian permanent residents, which I think is the opposite of what I'd want Canada to be. For some reason, our current government isn't very supportive of new Canadians. Maybe the "brain drain" problem isn't a big deal in the US but in Canada, we often worry about our best talent moving to the US, yet we pass laws preventing Canadian-trained foreign talent from staying! 

 

So I am sympathetic to the frustration that immigration laws make it very hard to stay in a country where you intend to be a useful, productive member of the society! Also, I am not sure about the wisdom of these restrictive working laws (fine, require F-1s to work on campus, but then don't make on-campus jobs give priority to non-F1s!). 

I agree with this sentiment (of course). I think there's actually some talks in the legislature to change the law and make citizenship easier to acquire for PhD holders. But since it's Congress we're talking about and this is nowhere near anyone's priority, I'm not holding my breath.

[TakeruK]

Now my biggest pet peeves is actually the travel restriction side effects that come with the F1. I know for other countries that expiration date of their F1 can be longer depending on their treaties, but for my country, the F1 is valid for only 1 year. Now I'm eligible to stay as long as I'm a full-time student in the program stated in my I-20, which is not hard to do, but after that 1 year, if I set foot outside the US (except for Canada and Mexico) I have to pay a fee to renew my visa to be able to enter again. Not to mention while technically I can do that at a US embassy in the country to which I travel, they strongly recommend doing it in my home country and there's no guarantee otherwise. So in order to ensure I can get back to continue my program, I would have to plan to travel within 1 year since my visa is granted or fly back to my home country to have it renewed. So inconvenient.

 

Some of my friends have very similar frustrating stories! For them, it makes it a lot harder to attend a conference outside of the US and I can imagine the doing the whole "third country visa" application while at an academic conference being very stressful and distracting from the purpose of the meeting! Also, some people have visas that are valid for a single entry only, which is even worse than the 1 year thing. 

 

My most recent pet peeve (actually a J-1 thing but close enough?), after trying to figure out and decipher tax forms last night, is that California State Taxes are super confusing for non-residents aliens! There is no software that seems to let me calculate it (please let me know if anyone finds one!) so I am constantly cross referencing Form 540 NR, Form 540NR Schedule A, and their respective line-by-line instructions which constantly refer to other places or other lines! The government provided software only handles residents I think and most pay-to-use software will only do non-resident state taxes if I also do my federal tax with them (but I already did them through my school's free access to Glacier Tax Prep!). After several hours this last night and this morning, I think I finally figured it out though...but I still don't know if my Form 1042-S non-service fellowship income is state taxable =/

 

Also, for my wife, who is working as a J-2, she is annoyed that she has to pay FICA taxes even though we are not going to live in the US long enough to actually benefit from Social Security or Medicaid. At the same time, she is ineligible for the standard deduction (or any deduction other than the personal exemption really)! So for NRAs, it seems like the IRS wants us to pay all the taxes yet get none or very few benefits. 

 

Finally, the last tax related pet peeve is that both Canadian and American taxes have to be filed by snail mail (no NETFILE for Canadians residing outside of the US and no EFILE for NRAs). We feel so lost between the two countries in terms of taxes

 

There is some positives though--the Canadian tax people will consider my tuition waiver as non-taxable income paid to me, but since I have to pay it to the school in tuition, I get Canadian tax credits for that money. I can't claim these credits until I actually pay taxes in Canada again, but at least when I return home, I will have a nice chunk of tax credits (if I ever get a job lol). 

 

And another thing that made me smile--the Glacier tax prep software reminded me last night, "Even if your spouse is not living in the US with you, you are still married!!" Good to know, Glacier Tax Prep!

[Science_Nerd]

2. OPT limited to 1 year.  Finding a company that's willing to hire and sponsor you on an H1B within 12 months of graduating is easier said than done (particularly when the odds are stacked against you and the company can easily bypass this hassle and simply hire a perm resident/citizen).  Which brings me to my 3rd point...

 

 

 

OPT is not that bad if you really look into it.

First of all, there is also other thing called CPT that you can use as many times as you want, not like OPT. So we, international students, should pay more attention to this CPT. 

 

And OPT is very interesting system. If you attend schools in the US from community college or undergrad level, then you have theoretically 3 times you can use OPT.

First, you can use OPT during or after completing undergrad, and you can extend it for another 17 months.

Then you get in Master's degree program. Then suddenly, you will be given another OPT available. and do the same thing.

And then, you go to PhD program, and you will have another OPT again.

 

So its not really the end of the world.

 

 

Plus, if you really really really carefully look for them, there are scholarships and fellowships for foreign students studying in US. Maybe your school itself might have something for international students too. (i.e.  my undergrad school had $3000/yr scholarship for international students).

I know that not everyone can pull it off, but.... it can be doable....

[spectastic]

I only read the title.

 

My biggest frustration as an F-1 was not having access to most scholarships, unique work/study opportunities, employment outside school, and having to rely on Visa sponsorship for employment, REU's, etc.

 

What pissed me off even more was that I grew up in the US, and it felt like I comparatively had the privileges of a second class citizen.

[ExponentialDecay]

"but you don't have an accent!"