University presidents urge congress to reform immigration laws
International students earning a degree at United States colleges and universities have little opportunity to remain in the U.S. once they complete their education, according to a letter Utah’s higher education officials sent to Congress recently urging immigration reform.
USU’s President Stan Albrecht and presidents of the University of Utah, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Westminster College, Dixie State University and Snow College sent a letter to Utah’s four members of the House of Representatives in September urging a bipartisan compromise on immigration legislation.
The letter calls out current immigration policies keeping international students, particularly those pursuing master’s and doctorate degrees, from remaining in the United States once they complete their education.
James Odei, a USU graduate student from Ghana, said he is concerned he and his family will not be allowed to stay in the country if he cannot find a job within the one year of graduation allotted by an Optional Practical Training, a temporary work permit.
“They spend American dollars on me for nine years, and when I finish they want me to just take my knowledge home,” Odei said. “My question is: What is the point of spending that money on me? It doesn’t make sense.”
Mark McLellan, dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State said he sees the current system as taking a step backwards.
“It’s more than just counterproductive,” McLellan said. “We produce some of our best students then say, ‘You’re no longer welcome here. You must go home, and why don’t you build a company while you’re there to compete against us?'”
In the letter, the presidents cited a study conducted by the Partnership for a New American Economy and the American Enterprise Institute. The letter states 262 American jobs are created for every 100 foreign-born graduates with a master’s or doctorate in a STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – field that choose to stay and work in the states.
According to McLellan, the university’s particular dedication to graduate research programs and the cultural insight of international students is a formula for success.
“Diverse thinking helps Utah’s companies be more aggressive and exhaustive in exploring directions,” he said. “We don’t always recognize the incredible value that diversity brings to the decision-making and positioning of a company in the marketplace. It’s an extraordinary and valuable opportunity.”
McLellan, whose expertise is in the field of food science and production, said he witnessed throughout his career international students finding jobs and placing well in food companies, not only because of their ability to research, but their different perspective on the global market.
“Most, if not many, companies now want to think in terms of a global marketplace, not a narrow niche of Cache Valley or anything like that,” McLellan said. “They want to really think aggressively about how they can position themselves in the market.”
For students to stay in the country and provide that insight, they have to be hired by companies or corporations who will help them speed through the process of changing their citizenship status, Odei said.
The letter, signed by Utah’s university and college presidents, states foreign graduate students have trouble remaining in the U.S. because of high-skilled visas and delays for permanent visas in the country.
“If I decide to go into the industry right now, I have to hope and pray that I will find a company that will be willing to help me change my status,” Odei said. “If not, the job that has been offered to me would be a waste of my time because now I have to struggle and raise funds to pay immigration lawyers that cost a lot of money. Sometimes it takes several years.”
Odei said he doesn’t have that kind of time. As he understands it, his academic student visa will expire once his degree is completed. He will then be issued a temporary work permit that is valid for one year. Odei said he doesn’t necessarily want to gain citizenship but wants a green card so he can work as a professor at a university – his ideal job.
“I want to give back to America what they’ve given to me. That’s my main goal,” he said. “They’ve taken care of me, tuition – I don’t have to pay anything. They spent their money on me and a way of appreciating what they did is to give at least a few years of my life working here and give back part of the knowledge I acquired. But if the system will deny me, that is no fault of mine.”
– manda.perkins@hotmail.com