A Good OPTion for International Students

International Students Find Success – and Challenges – in the U.S. After Graduation

By Dylan Houle, Executive Director of Internships and Career Services

International students come from all over the world to study at Menlo College. After they graduate, many choose to take advantage of Optional Practical Training (OPT) which allows them to live and work in the U.S. for up to one year. Many use that time to try to secure corporate sponsorship for longer-term work visas like the H-1B, which are primarily awarded through a lottery system.

Current International Student Representative Celina Husung ’22 recently brought together three alumni – Sam Baker ’20, Amelie Elsässer ’20 and Paolo Nogoy ’20 – for a virtual panel discussion to share their experiences pursuing the H-1B visa.

Sam Baker ’20, an international student from Canada, graduated with a degree in finance and secured a job offer as an Associate Consultant at Bain & Co., one of the world’s top consulting firms. The company sponsored him for a temporary H-1B work visa and he was selected during the lottery.

“It’s a really competitive process so networking with people who work at the company is important,” Sam said. “I was super lucky to get connected to someone at Bain through the internship that I did while at Menlo, so that was how I got my foot in the door.”

Amelie Elsässer ’20, a student from Germany, converted her audit & assurance internship at Deloitte into a full-time job. However, she shared that she wasn’t selected through the H-1B visa lottery the first time she was sponsored, but is maintaining a positive attitude about her experience working in the U.S.

“Dont be too focused on the H-1B visa,” she advises. “Enjoy the [OPT] year that you get through your degree and everything else will fall into place.”

Deloitte is currently sponsoring her application for a second time and she is waiting on the results.

Paolo Nogoy ’20, from the Philippines, took a somewhat different path from Sam and Amelie after graduation. First, he worked as a technical recruiter for a staffing agency before being recruited back to Menlo College to work on the admissions team. His new job at Menlo College greatly improves his chances of securing an H-1B visa because educational organizations are exempted from the H-1B visa cap.

“I would not recommend job hopping too much after graduation” Paolo said, but the chance to work for his alma mater and potentially stay in the U.S. long term “is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Already these alumni are taking what they learned about the job search to help their fellow international students transition into the U.S. workforce. For example, Baker provided critical mentorship to Bianca Barros ’22 and Basil Merk ’23 as they successfully navigated the interviewing process at Bain & Co. Barros, who graduates in December, will be joining him in the San Francisco office as an Associate Consultant while Merk will be following several months after to participate in the consulting firm’s prestigious summer internship program.