Extending America's Welcome

Imagine yourself as a graduating senior who just landed a posh job, say at a consulting firm, investment bank, or think tank. It’s time to kick back, relax, enjoy your last few classes, and smell the roses—at least if you are an American. International students, however, still have to worry about their final term grades, for if those grades are submitted too late, that fancy job could be a figment of their imagination.

Thank the H-1B visa for causing such headaches. One of the most versatile work visas issued to graduating foreign students (among others), the H-1B is capped by law at 65,000 visas a year, although an additional 20,000 visas are available for advanced degree-holders. Because of high demand, last year the cap was reached on May 26, before Harvard seniors received their degrees.

This meant that international students who had secured jobs in America were suddenly unable to work. Student visas expire a year after graduation, while H-1Bs begin in October. So students who graduated last June but failed to get an H-1B last fiscal year—about 40 members of the Class of 2006—will have to leave the country between next June and October. Consequently, many employers simply will not hire an international if she fails to get a visa immediately.

The real problem, of course, is the visa system, which ought to raise the annual limit. The H-1B program brings valuable expertise to U.S. industry and helps retain skilled workers educated in American institutions. Under current immigration rules, America risks educating some of the world’s brightest students and best talent, only to watch them take their skills elsewhere after graduation.

Raising the quota has broad bipartisan support. Last spring, Senator John Cornyn introduced the SKIL bill, which sought to increase the annual quota from 65,000 to 115,000 while making the system more sensitive to market demand. Unfortunately, the bill was coupled with the wider Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, and has been stalled in Congress since last summer. To avoid further delay, Congress should immediately separate the SKIL bill from the broader bill for speedier passage. To do so would benefit foreign skilled workers and American interests alike.

But while the issue is stalled at the national level, Harvard has a responsibility to do everything possible to make sure its graduating seniors can apply for H-B1s. Because the H-1B visas are provided only to skilled workers who can prove they have “fulfilled degree requirements,” it is impossible to apply for it until seniors have a received formal passing record—which, last year, did not happen until after the H-B1 cap was reached.

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 recently informed the Undergraduate Council (UC) of a five-step plan to address the problem, calling for the Records and Requirements Office to work with the Registrar on a degree audit during the spring semester, in an attempt to determine which international seniors will be eligible for a visa provided they complete their final semester successfully. He also hopes that the Registrar will notify professors teaching affected students so that grades can be submitted as soon as possible and have signed letters on hand to be sent to appropriate immigration offices as soon as degree requirements have been successfully met.

While this is a laudable start, it seems that the administration’s proposal will does not help those students whose final exam falls on the last day of exam period. The UC has proposed a more aggressive plan, calling on Harvard’s administration to allow those seeking H-1B visas alternative means of getting final grades early, such as substituting final papers for exams or giving affected students early exams. If professors were willing to cooperate, given the unforgiving visa system, and submit internationals’ grades early, it would do a great service to students who might otherwise be unable to stay in America.

While granting exceptions to exam and grade policy is notoriously difficult at Harvard, this is a serious concern that demands unique treatment. We hope that the College abandons its rigid policies so that international students will have the opportunity to stay in America.