EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE
18
POST-GRADUATION
Many foreign students want to stay in the U.S. after
graduation, but that can be very challenging. 11 In
the past, the H-1B work visa provided a relatively
straightforward path to remain in the U.S. However,
H-1B, which used to be a relatively reliable path for
many foreign nationals who have job opportunities
to stay in the United States, has become increasingly
difficult in recent years. The categor y has been
oversubscribed for years, necessitating a lottery in
which fewer than 40% of qualified applicants with job
offers receive the visa. Increased restrictions under
the Trump administration have further discouraged
employers from even seeking to hire potential H-1B
participants. The current immigration climate and
policy is focused upon hiring U.S. persons for what
would normally be H-1B positions. Even under the best
of circumstances, the H-1B visa is tied to a particular
employer, limiting one’s job mobility and placing the
visa holder at the mercy of market forces.
For the savvy investor, who understands the program
and plans carefully, EB-5 can be a great benefit to
educational planning. EB-5 presents the ultimate in
portability. It isn’t tied to a particular university, job
or location. It is a liberation from many sources of
stress and anxiety, enabling parents and their children
to focus their attention where it belongs: planning
their children’s best educational and career choices
for now and into the future. Nor is it only the present
generations who stand to benefit. EB-5 means that
generations into the future stand to benefit from all
the opportunities of the U.S.
R obert G armong is an education and immigration consultant
who has helped Chinese students successfully pursue their
U.S. education dreams for more than 10 years. With a Ph.D. in
philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in
economics and political science from the University of Chicago,
he taught business ethics and philosophy in the U.S. and China
for many years before leaving academia to focus on consultancy.
Sources
1
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/best-destinations-study-
abroad-chosen-parents
2
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/international-students-united-states
3
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/13/colleges-foreign-students-
trump-985259
4
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hecparis/2018/05/17/the-most-important-
leadership-skill-you-probably-never-learned/#69da949f7fc4
5
http://www.collegebound.net/content/article/how-much-does-boarding-school-
cost-/18833/
6
https://news.virginia.edu/content/new-study-finds-low-income-students-
do-not-benefit-private-schooling. Original paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/
doi/10.3102/0013189X18785632
7
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018303.pdf
8
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/international-student-
counsel/2015/07/20/5-ways-studying-at-a-us-high-school-can-strengthen-a-
college-application
9
https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/2018-19-state-
tuition-and-fees-public-four-year-institutions-state-and-five-year-percentage
10
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_351.asp
11
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/07/10/599219792/u-s-degree-check-u-
s-work-visa-still-a-challenge