The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) reported this month a decline of 21% in Indian students enrolling for graduate-level programmes in computer science and engineering at US colleges from 2016-2017.
It says the decline is caused by Trump’s protectionist policies such as “plans to restrict the ability of international students to work after graduation”.
ThePrint asks: Is H1B VISA the only aspiration for Indian engineering students in the US?
To foreign students, America appears to be failing in its claims about welcoming the world’s best
Associate Professor at Santa Clara University
First, the economic nationalism that Trump promised at the beginning of his term is finally starting to take solid shape. It may be checked, partially at least, by various factors, but Trump will seek to go through with the motions to play to his base.
Second, there is obviously an overtly racial dimension to this issue. Steve Bannon, who served as the Trump administration’s chief strategist, had remarked in an interview that Silicon Valley had too many Asian tech CEOs, which in his view was detrimental to US ‘civic society.’ This was a barely concealed assertion of a bias toward white American identity. It is this white American identity that Trump seeks to empower with his economic nationalism.
These remarks, as indeed many aspects of the Trump campaign, were part of a general shift in the social and political climate in the US. This was also expressed, for instance, as a spate of ugly racial incidents. In the run-up to and aftermath of the 2016 US elections, these kinds of incidents and the rise of the alt-right sent a clear message to foreigners in the US. I experienced this first-hand in a city as supposedly liberal as San Francisco. For students from India planning to apply to US universities, this must have been a source of anxiety, likely motivating them to look at other countries as places to study.
Third, the H1B Visa programme in itself has been under the scanner. Trump has spoken about making the selection process more stringent. To foreign students, such initiatives are seen as America failing in its claims about welcoming and rewarding the best and the brightest from across the world. That has been the American promise as widely understood, central to the project of American ‘soft power’ and genuinely motivated by America’s self-image as a country of immigrants. It is a big decision, psychologically and financially, to come to a different country and study. It may not seem worth it to many students to make that leap if uncertainty lies ahead.
Lastly, there are some internal divisions and politics among the Indian community when it comes to the H1B visa. There seems to be a perception among them that the H1B market has become too saturated and must be filtered in favour of ‘good’ Indian candidates. It was surprising that many Indians said they supported Trump’s efforts to tighten the H1B visa procedures, instead of protesting them.
All of these factors combined are obviously likely to deter more students from applying to American universities.
The attractiveness of studying in the US is on the wane because of restrictions
Founder and Chairman of 5F World, former chairman of NASSCOM
The $150 billion IT industry in India was created by two policy initiatives — in India, the Software Technology Parks scheme, and in US, the H1B skilled worker visa programme both of which enabled over three million young folks to be employed on on-site and off-shore projects for American clients.
The attractiveness of the American dream made Indian engineering students flock to the US for their Masters’ programmes and job seekers in India looked for the first opportunity to request their employers to sponsor them for H1Bs and then Green cards to become residents of the US.
A recurring topic for the last 12 months and more has been the Trump administration’s series of actions against the highly skilled visa programme and the issuance as well as continuance of H1B visas. The first was the move to substantially increase the minimum wage payable to H1B workers and also to target specifically companies, which are over 50 per cent dependent on visa holders. In recent times, the opportunity for the spouses of H1B holders to work in the US was withdrawn, and in a recent salvo, multiple restrictions are sought to be placed on third-party deployment of H1B visa holders.
The response of the Indian industry has been on three fronts. First is the fact that India’s IT sector is a “net creator” of jobs in the US, directly supporting over 400,000 jobs in the US. In the last four years alone, American jobs supported by Indian companies grew by 10 per cent annually compared to annual US job growth of less than two per cent.
The second is the help given to thousands of US businesses to improve their operations, create new products and services and gain market share through superior global competitiveness.
The third and possibly the most compelling argument is that the US Department of Labor estimates that there will be 2.4 million unfilled jobs in science technology and engineering (STEM) by 2018, with half of these in IT related roles and while Indian companies have stepped in to fill the gap, only 17 per cent of the total approved H1B visas accrued to the top seven Indian IT companies in FY 2015 and the annual number of IT specialists from India working on temporary visas is about 0.009 per cent of the 158-million strong US workforce.
With all these restrictions the attractiveness of studying in the US both at under-graduate and graduate level is naturally on the wane and unless the powers that be take steps to redress the situation, there could be long-term cost for the aspirations of students and Indian youth as well as the competitiveness of US firms.
Students from second-tier colleges are more upset by H1B visa restrictions than IITs and IIMs
Founder, Crossborders, H1B VISA Expert
Applying to the United States for higher education with the only aim to secure an H1B visa used to be the trend earlier. Lately, this visa-centric behaviour of Indian students is undergoing a change. The US is the primary destination for both higher education and professional pursuits in India. Students studying in the US aim for an OPT visa (Optional Practical Training) from their universities, which allows them to work and is later converted into H1B.
In many meetings with various stakeholders, what I have encountered is that there are two opinions to Trump’s tightening of H1B norms. The students from second and third-tier engineering colleges say that the changes in the H1B policy will deter them from securing job opportunities in the United States.
However, those from premier institutions like IIMs and IITs believe that the reforms are much needed for long-term benefits. There are irregularities by Indian US-based companies that this will help curtail. It will provide pay correction and job security for those who are hired. The lottery system is arbitrary and doesn’t reward the meritorious candidates; Trump’s proposed changes may fix that.
It depends on the sample set you consider if you want to determine if H1B is a hindrance for students applying abroad.
On the other hand, some parents are concerned about the intolerant climate in the country. The local incidences of racism influence their decision more than that of the students.
The US is still a land of opportunities for many, and H1B is one of the many possibilities available. Recently there is an article that the US government is planning to come up with Entrepreneurs Visa, which allows startup founders to pursue opportunities in the US. Also, Investors Visa is gaining prominence these days.
Trump’s H-1B visa changes are unlikely to affect the aspirations of Indian tech graduates
Business Analyst, ThePrint
Today, India’s engineering undergraduate students from the upper middle-class are obsessed with the idea of pursuing master’s degrees from American universities. Their objective is no longer to get into IITs and IIMs. They start their GRE/GMAT preparation very early, when they are still sophomores. And these coaching classes are a huge business in India. They pursue these against all odds.
It isn’t an easy job to secure a loan from an Indian bank for such an expensive foreign education. But they pursue this on the belief that they will be employed in the US after post-graduation. With this single-minded goal, these young minds even compromise on the institutes they enroll in. All they want is a career in the United States. It doesn’t matter if it is low-salary work by US standards.
At the same time, the US-based IT consulting companies wouldn’t want to lose the cheaply available Indian engineers at any cost. It is a well-known fact that there is a considerable skill gap among their native population in the STEM area.
International mobility is critical to the future workforce. Donald Trump’s policy on H-1B visas is more likely to have been driven by the general hostility towards immigrants. But it will not seriously affect future graduate school aspirants. Silicon Valley will not stop recruiting immigrants because the US doesn’t have enough qualified people. And if they do stop recruiting immigrants to the US, there will be a new Silicon Valley outside it. It may even open up businesses for other emerging economies in Bengaluru, Shanghai or Tel Aviv.
In the meantime, we also find that a considerable number of Indian students are now moving towards European universities and also China and Singapore. This is not just because of visa restrictions but also factors like university fee, living cost and quality of education. Thus, it may be short-sighted to think that declining enrollment is only because of stricter H1B norms. Students are opening themselves up to possibilities in other countries offering equally competitive education.
Compiled by Deeksha Bhardwaj, Journalist at ThePrint.