<p>I will be entering a graduate program in Fall 2011 and I am a little worried about the job prospects for international graduate students.
I will be getting a degree in financial engineering from an Ivy league school.
My goal is to go into either Risk Analysis or Derivatives Trading (ultimate goal,ya?).
These are probably going to be analyst positions as I have no experience in finance.</p>
<p>What are the odds of getting a sponsor?
The situation with me is a little different than with many international students. My mother is a permanent resident in the US and sooner or later I will get my permanent residency.
However, I might need an H1B (for 1-3 years) after my 12 month OPT expires ( I don't know if my employer will be e-verified for the 17- month extension).</p>
<p>Has anybody seen a similar situation? who can I contact for professional advice?</p>
<p>Your program can probably give you statistics on the post-graduation plans of their students, including the international students who need a sponsor in the US.</p>
<p>“My mother is a permanent resident in the US and sooner or later I will get my permanent residency.”</p>
<p>Have your mom talk this though with an immigration lawyer. It may make more sense for her to naturalize as quickly as possible so that you can move up the line faster yourself.</p>
<p>“Your program can probably give you statistics on the post-graduation plans of their students, including the international students who need a sponsor in the US.”</p>
<p>“Have your mom talk this though with an immigration lawyer. It may make more sense for her to naturalize as quickly as possible so that you can move up the line faster yourself.”</p>
<p>She will get her citizenship in Nov 2012. It won’t really change much.
Even though the naturalization will speed up the process, I will already be in my OPT period.</p>
<p>I think you need to talk to your school first especially your international student office otherwise you may want to extend your graduation date. For example, instead of graduating in May 2012, you may decide to graduate in December 2012 if that’s possible. This means you do not need to take a lot of classes for each semester.</p>
<p>If your mom is working with an immigration lawyer, have her ask what needs to be done so that she can file for you the second she becomes a citizen. She also needs to find out how long you can be in the US while you are waiting for a “change of status”. You may be able to remain here legally, but you may not be able to work until your green card is approved.</p>
<p>Another thing that she needs to find out, is whether she will get her citizenship in Nov. 2012 for certain. That process can have hideous delays. I know people for whom everything went smoothly and were sworn in right on schedule. I also have a friend whose paperwork was inexplicably delayed for more than two years following her interview.</p>