15:05
For decades, international students have come to the US with a clear expectation. Earn a degree, get a job and build a life in the country in pursuit of their American dream. But for many graduates, that path is becoming increasingly difficult at every step. The pressure is coming from two directions. For one, international students are graduating into one of the toughest entry level job markets in years. About 84,000 international students are expected to earn bachelor's degrees from American universities in 2026. Meanwhile, roughly 306,000 international students are working toward master's degrees and another 153,000 toward PhDs. At the same time, job postings on the early career platform Handshake were down 2% between July
2025 and March 2026, compared to the same period the year prior, and down 12% from 2019 to 2020, just before the pandemic. The unemployment rate for recent college grads between 22 and 27 stood at 5.6%, compared to 3.1% for all college grads and 4.2% for all workers. Currently, the job market is disastrous, I would say. There's a big decrease in the total number of jobs from last year to this year.
I attended a few applications, but none is working. And through some of the application, I can actually feel that even those second tier, third tier jobs now are having first tier candidates. A career coach I spoke with, who works closely with international students, says even highly skilled Stem candidates are struggling to land offers. Students who might have expected multiple tech offers just a few years ago are now happy to get even one. But unlike many American graduates, international students face another hurdle beyond simply finding a job: maintaining their legal
status. Under the second Trump administration, some temporary work authorization programs that many graduates have relied on have become less predictable. Some graduates from countries affected by the administration's travel restrictions have seen OPT processing paused, leaving them unable to start jobs after graduation. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would raise the minimum salaries required for employees seeking H-1B visas. In response, several international students I spoke to said they were developing backup plans. While many are still pursuing opportunities in the US, they're also exploring alternatives back home or in other countries, especially across Europe, Southeast Asia, Canada and Australia.
The United States used to be this golden place where everyone would see coming and staying, getting naturalized in the States as something that is top of the hierarchy back in their home countries. But right now, things have changed. I think this American dream has been decaying for a lot of people. They probably will still come to study, but at least for Chinese people that I know, many of them are actually thinking of after graduating, going back to Asia, comparing to staying here in the States. The US losing international graduates could have broader economic consequences.
Former international students at American universities have gone on to found a quarter of US startup companies valued at $1 billion or more. Another study found that a one-third reduction in foreign STEM graduates could lead to annual GDP losses between $240 billion and $481 billion over the next decade. What once felt like a clear pathway from American University to the American dream now feels far less certain. And as more graduates begin to question whether their future lies elsewhere, the consequences could extend far beyond college campuses.
