As work visas, which allow people from abroad to work in the United States, become harder to obtain, ISU international students appear to have fewer opportunities for employment and a greater possibility of returning home after graduation.

Each year, several hundred international students at Iowa State apply for Employment Authorization Document, called Optional Practical Training, which grants international students an F-1 visa to gain work experience for one year.

Getting an Employment Authorization Document, however, does not guarantee a job or practical training.

Virginia McCallum, program coordinator of International Students and Scholars, said almost 99 percent of international students seek an Employment Authorization Document in hopes of applying the knowledge they obtained in the classroom to practical experience.

Although not categorized as a visa, gaining practical work experience with an Employment Authorization Document may serve as the ladder to get to the next level of employment.

“Companies are trying to hire the best-qualified people,” McCallum said. “They are really pressuring Congress that they didn’t find enough Americans qualified to fill the positions.”

The more exhaustive procedures and scrutiny that were added to the process of hiring international students after Sept. 11 have weighed on students, she said.

Companies, as a sponsor for work visas, also shoulder the added burden.

“There is a lot of paperwork to hire international students, which costs a company a lot,” McCallum said.

The number of visas issued each fiscal year has been slashed by two-thirds, from 195,000 for the 2003 fiscal year to 65,000 in 2004. The annual cap on H-1B visas – the ones necessary for most international students to gain employment after an Employment Authorization Document expires – has since fallen, as well.

“U.S. jobs for international students are certainly less available due to the H-1B visa,” said Larry Hanneman, engineering career services director. “Availability of H-1B visas is a significant factor.”

A sponsoring U.S. employer is required to obtain H-1B status.

Mark Peterson, director of graduate career services for the College of Business, said most of the companies are closely looking into visa sponsorship.

“The majority of companies are not recruiting international students,” he said. “They don’t want to take a risk.”

The employer is required to submit a labor condition application, payment of prevailing wages for the position and working conditions offered, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site.

ISU international students in MBA programs, however, might be among the most successful in finding an employer who, despite the troublesome procedure, agrees to become a sponsor.

Peterson said approximately 80 percent of students in the MBA program at Iowa State who tried to find a job last year in the United States found one, although international students still faced the biggest challenge.

“More and more U.S. companies are expressing interests in international students,” he said.

McCallum, Hanneman and Peterson all said they agree graduate students are in a better position than undergraduates on the grounds of the more specialized knowledge and skills they have.

“Having a graduate degree makes everything much easier,” McCallum said.

An additional 20,000 H-1B visas introduced in 2004, which were available only for those with a master’s or higher degree, are another edge over undergraduates, she said.

She said International Students and Scholars is coordinating with other career services on campus, planning to hold a workshop designed for international students, possibly next spring. Another way they try to reach out to students is to occasionally invite a lawyer who is well-versed in visa procedure to help students and companies understand its intricacy.

“What Iowa State can do to help ISU international students is help the companies that interview here to understand the various possibilities allowing the international students to work in the U.S.,” McCallum said.

“The H-1B is not the only option.”