Foreign Students Facing Tough Times in the U.S
As Trump has initiated a series of steps in several sectors during his second stint, immigrants seeking education and employment are bearing the brunt
Vijayawada: The foreign students in the US, including those from Andhra Pradesh, are facing a tough task to pursue higher education and to find jobs there under the administration of President Donald Trump.
As Trump has initiated a series of steps in several sectors during his second stint, immigrants seeking education and employment are bearing the brunt.
A majority of US-bound students from AP had availed bank loans to go there for higher education. They generally tend to take up off-campus jobs so that they could simultaneously study in universities and work to make money and pay back the loans.
But, after Trump took charge in January, finding off-campus jobs has become a tough call. This forced the students to seek alternative sources of income to meet their daily expenses. Immigrant students say things have drastically changed.
The US administration, which intends to enforce tough immigrant laws, is also checking the background of the students with regard to their activism in universities and violations, if any, of traffic norms. These are used as easy excuses to deport them to their home nations.
Some students who got admission in universities failed to get off-campus jobs. They are having no sources of income while some are not even having money to purchase air tickets to return to their countries. They expect that the US administration would arrange tickets and deport them.
Some immigrant students and workers who intend to go back to their home nations for vacation are being advised not to go -- for fear of trouble to return to the US.
The US administration calls all the immigrants who enter legally into the US as aliens until they become its citizens. Those who enter without valid documentation are considered illegal aliens and their deportation is likely.
A community leader in North America said, “The immigrants here are in the grip of fear to reach out to their fellow immigrants in trouble and facing deportation. They avoid extending any help to such persons, assuming that they may face trouble from the US administration.”
Moreover, lawyers are being engaged to sort out issues legally so as to avoid any problem.
Some students with F1 Visas are not even availing the ‘Optional Practical Training’ to go back to home nation for a year or so to avoid likely problems for their return to the US in the prevailing atmosphere.
Immigrants with H1B visas are also finding it hard to get a job in the gap period of changing from one company to another after completion of the contract period. They too fear deportation.
People from AP, who have settled down well there, say Trump has become so conservative in relation to safeguarding the interests of native citizens that he started to impose curbs on immigrants. He believes that this would help native citizens find jobs and there will, thus, be reduced pressure on the administration to pay unemployment doles to the jobless.
They also say that the earlier practice of entering the US through consultants after getting admission in some universities, and doing off-campus jobs to support self and those back home, may not be acceptable hereafter.
A software professional from AP settled in the US, Anand said, “Foreign students are facing a tough time here to study and work at present. The Trump administration is more concerned about the influx of immigrants. But, the US remains a dream destination for all those who intend to study and work. They want to settle down here to make good money and enjoy the liberty it offers as long as they are law-abiding citizens.”
