Visa Issue

Visa issue is very important to us. No matter it is CPT or OPT or STEM or H1B. All of these will determine how long can we stay in America legally. Visa issue directly affect our plans in America. Maybe there are less students fighting for the green card than the generation decades ago. But we still try to find a better way to stay.



November the 10th, President Obama claimed a change in Chinese Visa to America that from now on, the business travel visa is 10 years and student visa is 5 five years. But the OPT (Optional Practical Training) and STEM still remain the same, which are 12 months and 31months perspectively. This only means we do not have to fill a form called DS-160 every time when we go back to China.

We have a 12-months OPT after college graduation and one after master degree. In order to stay longer in the United States, applying a graduate school or a PhD are the most affective way. But you gotta have the chips to get in because studying in America is not that easy.


Some students choose to work after graduation. That is a tougher situation for all the international students because even though we get a work offer, the company might not be able to sponsor our working visa H1B. And even if the company has money to apply the H1B for us, the working visa works as a lottery. PhDs and masters first, then undergraduates. STEM majors first. It means after a year of working, without the working visa, we have to leave.

I am not saying this whole Visa system is unfair for us. Actually it is very fair and make students competitive. However I just want to point out the fact that how visa status plays a huge role for us and affect our decisions and plans in America that most Americans do not realize.