What U.S. Employers Should Know About Student Visa Uncertainty Affecting the Talent Pipeline
- Mira Mdivani, Mdivani Business Immigration Lawyer
- Jun 7
- 1 min read

U.S. employers recruiting STEM talents from U.S. schools should prepare for a tighter labor market as the student visa uncertainty continues.
Fewer Students Graduating with Advanced STEM Degrees
U.S. Department of State has paused student visa interviews. It has announced tougher vetting for student visas from certain STEM-heavy countries. DHS has been revoking SEVIS/student visa status for students already in the U.S.
At least one university has been stripped of its ability to have foreign students in the U.S. at all. Students who otherwise would be graduating with advanced degrees from U.S. universities may be unable to graduate or unwilling to handle extreme uncertainty in the U.S. and chose schools outside the U.S. This will undoubtedly result in fewer graduates available for hire in the U.S. See also: [Wall Street Journal Article – LINK]
What Employers Should Do
Employers should make a plan ahead of time if they want to keep STEM jobs in the U.S. and beef up their recruitment and retention. Regarding their international STEM graduates, employers should not delay H-1B applications until the second or third year of OPT or STEM OPT. For employees already on board, they should prepare a retention plan that includes work via and employer-driven process elements.

Mira Mdivani, Corporate Immigration Lawyer
Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm
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