Visas Dry Up For Intl. Seniors

Due to an unusually high demand for work visas this year and Harvard’s traditionally late graduation date, some international students have failed to obtain the work visas they need to keep their prospective jobs and remain in the United States next year.

Three days before her graduation, Monica Rana ’06 thought her future was settled. She had an apartment in New York and a job with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), an investment banking company. But Rana received a call yesterday morning informing her that the company would probably have to rescind her job offer.

Rana, who is from Nepal, said she just missed the cutoff for a H-1B work visa after her company sent in her visa application on May 26.

That same day, the federal government had reached its 2006 quota of 65,000 work visas and stopped accepting visa petitions, according to a press release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Last year, that same quota was not filled until Aug. 10—a full two and a half months later—according to the 2005 USCIS press release.

At least five international students graduating this week said they failed to obtain their work visas, while many of the over 100 other graduating international students may also have been affected.

International students who graduate from four-year American colleges can work in the United States for up to twelve months under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which offers a temporary extension of a student visa.

But without a H-1B work visa, a student would be required to leave the country once his or her OPT extension expired.

Even if a student were granted a work visa next year, the new visa would not take effect until October 2007—several months after the OPT extension expires.

Students said employers may be unwilling or unable to let their new recruits spend those months out of the country, and may decide to rescind job offers.

Harvard’s late graduation date has also contributed to the students’ dilemma.

Students said the Registrar could not provide them with a letter saying that they had completed their graduation requirements until their grades were submitted, leaving them unable to provide proof of graduation to the government.

In fact, Harvard’s finals period did not end until May 26—the same day the quota for work visas was filled.

FAS Registrar Barry S. Kane could not be reached for comment yesterday.

SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR

When DrKW told Rana on May 24 that visas were disappearing fast, she worked hard to get her paperwork in order.

She e-mailed her professors asking them to submit her grades early.

Her professors were helpful and understanding, Rana said, as were her house master and senior tutor in Mather House.

“As soon as the grades were in, we did get a letter for the registrar,” Rana said.

But, she said, by that point it was too late.

Graduating seniors Qicheng Ma, Sabrina E. De Abreu, Elisa M. Segovia, and Yue Zhou described similar experiences.

Zhou says she hoped to hear from Citigroup today about whether she will still have a job with them after graduation.

Students said they are unsure whether there is any action they or Harvard can take to remedy the problem.

“I talked to the international office, and they said they were sorry about it, but there’s basically nothing they can do about it,” Zhou said.

However, federal legislation to increase the number of H-1B visas available is pending, according to Sharon Ladd, the director of Harvard’s international office.

“Since the business community is very interested in expanding the cap, it is likely that there will be relief in this area,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Some students were more fortunate than Rana.

Victor V. Bicalho ’06 said he submitted his petition on May 25, and was told by lawyers for his future employer, Goldman Sachs, that it was filed on time.

Other students said their future employers are not fazed by the prospect of having their new employees forced to leave the country for a few months.

Ma, who will be working as a programmer for Google, said that the company has reassured him that they can deal with his visa difficulties.

Rana said she is still trying to find a way to keep her job with DrKW, perhaps by working in one of their overseas offices.

“I’m still hoping that maybe we can work something out,” she said.

—Lois E. Beckett can be reached at lbeckett@fas.harvard.edu.