The US job market is becoming increasingly challenging for international students, prompting parents investing in American education to reconsider their strategy.
Entrepreneur Vijay Thirumalai recently took to social media to shed light on the growing difficulties students face in securing internships and jobs, particularly due to AI-driven visa screening.
Thirumalai was responding to a post by editor Smita Prakash, who warned: “International students are struggling to land even internships in the US this year. Many are being rejected outright at the first screening when asked, ‘Do you have permission to work in the US indefinitely?’ A ‘No’ answer results in immediate disqualification.”
Supporting this claim, Thirumalai pointed out that many companies are preemptively filtering out candidates who might need work visa sponsorship in the future—even those currently on OPT.
He cautioned parents against spending upwards of $300,000 on a US undergraduate degree when their children may face significant hurdles in securing employment post-graduation.
Instead of sending students to the US without a clear pathway to residency, Thirumalai proposed two strategic alternatives.
Consider countries with a clear path to residency:
“A far better return on investment (ROI) for your $300K is choosing a country where students have a pathway to permanent residency,” he suggested, citing Canada (University of Toronto, Waterloo) and Germany as strong options.
Invest in an EB-5 visa for long-term security:
For families committed to a US education, Thirumalai recommended an EB-5 visa investment to bypass the uncertainties of the H-1B process.
“Invest an additional $400K to process an EB-5 visa for your child in parallel,” he explained. Since NRIs can access $400K credit under FEMA regulations, the effective capital requirement is reduced to $400K instead of the standard $800K.
With an EB-5 investment, students could secure an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) within two years of starting their undergraduate program and obtain a Green Card by age 24 or 25. This would grant them the freedom to work for any employer, pursue top-tier internships, or even start their own businesses—without the constraints of the H-1B visa.
"This exponentially improves their chances of landing internships, enables them to launch their own ventures, and grants them unrestricted employment opportunities—permanently freeing them from the H-1B visa nightmare,” Thirumalai emphasized.
Additionally, he noted that, when factoring in rupee depreciation, the real cost of an EB-5 visa could be lower than $250K—making it a viable investment compared to spending $300K on a degree with no guaranteed job prospects.
Families with multiple children can also structure the EB-5 application strategically to minimize tax implications and ensure a smoother immigration process.
