P12-13 MBAS8 Work US V6 8/4/08 12:38 Page 2
Editorial
CAREERS
Working in the US
Non-citizens may find the tough visa situation and credit crunch affecting their employment
opportunities in the US. However, as Ross Geraghty finds out, an MBA from an American
business school still provides the best opportunity for non-US nationals to find the role that
they seek states-side.
Protecting the American job market
Generally, when coming to study in the US,
students get an F-1 visa (exchange students get a
J-1) which allows 12 months of ‘optional practical
training’ (OPT) – and the ability to work in a field
of study after completion of the program. After
that, graduates need employers to sponsor them
for an H1-B visa and there is a limit on how many
H-1B visas can be issued each year (‘H1-B cap’).
In 2003, in a move seen by some as designed to
protect the American job market and by others,
including leading business people from
companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Motorola
and Hewlett-Packard, as immensely counter-
productive to their recruitment strategies,
President Bush slashed the number of H-1B visas
available from 195,000 to 65,000.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates subscribes to the
Business School alumnus, also from Russia, view that the visa situation is driving away the top
worked in the UK for two years prior to moving to talent from US shores, "precisely when we need
J
ulia Bykhovskaia’s ambition was to work the US. them most," he says. "The terrible shortfall in our
in one of the world’s great markets. She “I work in finance and private equity and, visa supply for the highly skilled stems not from
had completed her MBA from NYU frankly, 70 per cent of the market is here in the US. security concerns, but from visa policies that have
Stern and was ready to begin her career in It’s a very sophisticated market and a great not been updated in over a decade and a half. We
either London or New York. She was learning experience.” live in a different economy now. Simply put: it
armed with intelligence, a world recog- For Luba, the experience of obtaining a visa makes no sense to tell well-trained, highly skilled
nized qualification and ambition - but that wasn’t wasn’t quite as painful as it was for Julia. Her UK individuals—many of whom are educated at our
enough. As a Russian, Julia still needed to obtain
proper work authorization if her dream of working “For me personally, the visa process was quite painful.
in the US was going to become a reality.
“For me personally, the visa process was
I had to wait several months before I could start working”
quite painful. I had to wait several months before
Julia Bykhovskaia, MBA, NYU Stern
I could start working and am very grateful to my
employer that they did not withdraw their job offer company, Watson Wyatt, arranged a two-year visa top colleges and universities—that the United
because I was waiting for my visa approval. Then I for her very smoothly. However for those who do States does not welcome or value them. For
had to delay the start date because of the need to not have such an advantage, the process can be a lot too many foreign students and professionals our
travel outside the US to validate my visa.” trickier. immigration policies send precisely this message."
Julia is not alone in her experiences. The US, MBAs hold the upper hand in such negotia- This year it is projected that H-1B visas will
perhaps for obvious reasons, has some of the tions – after all, the US, like everywhere, needs be taken up within a month of the allocation
strictest visa and immigration regulations in the talented managers and leaders – but there are becoming available, which presents big problems
world. It is the number one choice of destination major factors standing in the way of non-nationals for some top non-national MBA talent wanting to
for MBAs because of its mature finance and getting into the US: visa status, internal competi- stay within the country. Currently, unless MBAs
banking markets. Luba Nikulina, a London tion and the credit crunch. want to resort to pot luck, the best policy is to get
12 TopMBA CAREER GUIDE
www.topmba.com
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