As the United States competes for global talent, proposed changes to student visa policies could make it harder for international graduates, particularly Indians, to move from college classrooms into the American workforce. Danielle Goldman, co-founder and CEO of Build, warned that the shift could deepen labor shortages in fast-growing sectors such as artificial intelligence, technology, and engineering.
The concern stems from a proposal issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on May 5 that would significantly change how long international students can remain in the United States. Currently, most F-1 visa holders are admitted under the “Duration of Status” system, which allows them to stay in the country as long as they maintain their student status and comply with visa requirements.
Under the proposed changes, international students would instead receive a fixed stay of up to four years. Students seeking to remain in the country beyond that period, whether to complete their education or participate in post-graduation work programs, would need to obtain approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
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Goldman said the impact would be felt across the international student community, but Indian students could be disproportionately affected because of their large presence in U.S. universities and their significant participation in the H-1B visa system.
“Indian students are one of the largest student populations in the United States,” Goldman said, as per a clip shared by ANI. “They’re getting the jobs, they’re working through school, they’re getting companies to say, ‘Yes, we will sponsor you,’ and they’re entering the H-1B lottery at a very high rate.”
She said many employers invest heavily in international graduates during their Optional Practical Training (OPT) period and routinely sponsor them for the H-1B lottery. When candidates are not selected, companies often turn to alternative pathways that allow employees to remain in the country and continue working.
According to Goldman, one of the most widely used options has been Day 1 CPT programs, which allow some students to maintain work authorization by enrolling in another academic program. Large employers have frequently directed workers toward these programs when H-1B sponsorship efforts were unsuccessful.
However, Goldman said the proposed Duration of Status rule would significantly limit that pathway. Under the new framework, students who have already earned a degree at a particular level generally would not be able to enroll in another program at the same level solely to maintain work authorization.
“For anyone who already has a master’s degree, they’re not going to be able to go back and say, ‘I need another master’s degree because I need work authorization to continue working,'” Goldman said.
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Instead, affected workers could be forced to pursue a higher-level degree, such as a Ph.D., to remain eligible. Goldman argued that such a requirement would be impractical for many professionals who are already established in technical careers.
“That’s not reasonable for people,” she said. “They don’t want to sign up for a five-year Ph.D. program when they’re a data scientist and they’re using machine learning every day and already have a master’s degree.”
Goldman said the proposal could leave tens of thousands of highly skilled workers, many of them Indian nationals who were not selected in the H-1B lottery despite multiple attempts, searching for alternative immigration pathways. She added that employers that have relied on Day 1 CPT programs to retain talent may also need to reconsider their workforce strategies.
“Amazon and Meta and a lot of these companies that relied on that solution to retain their talent who they’ve invested in during the OPT period, that’s not going to be possible anymore, and they’re going to have to think of solutions,” Goldman said.