I agree, 130k debt is crazy for an undergraduate degree. And you will likely need more. (College tuition, room and board, and health insurance charges have been increasing at a rate of about 7% annually. Also consider that currency exchange rates will fluctuate and may develop to your disadvantage.)
Let’s talk about work visas. Currently (meaning under policies pre-dating Trump), you probably would not be able to get a H-1B work visa upon graduation.These visas are given out in a lottery, with a Bachelor’s degree holder’s chances being about 1 in 4 most recently. If you are not drawn for a work visa, there’s literally nothing even the most motivated employer could do to keep you in the country.
Most foreign undergraduate students who want to stay in the US after college will go to graduate school, which costs more money. Graduate school opens several new doors. First, there’s an extra allotment of H-1B visas set aside solely for people with graduate degrees from an American university. Second, it opens the path to a career in academia, which is exempt from the H-1B cap. Third, it is more likely that you would qualify for an employment-based green card, which requires that an employer document that they were unable to find an American worker to fill the position (usually done for PhDs, or senior employees with years of very specialized work experience).
Currently, the easiest way to get a green card is not via employment but via marriage to a US citizen. However, the current administration has announced their intention to curb family-based immigration, so that option may not be available to you at all.
What the current administration will do to the work visa program is anyone’s guess.
Next, let’s think about the practicality of loans. First, do you have a bank or a relative who would lend you $130k - $200? You will NOT get it from an American bank as a foreign student.
Then let’s think about repayment. A $150k private student loan from a US bank would typically come at an annual interest rate of about 10%, on a 10-year repayment schedule. That would result in monthly payments of about $2,000. The average starting salary of Stern graduates is about $74,000 annually. (You would likely be paid less as a foreigner who requires work visa sponsorship.) Let’s assume you work in the NYC area. After taxes, your take-home pay would be about $50,000. After student loan payments, you are left with $26,000 for the year. That’s less than the NYU student budget for cost-of-living expenses for a 9-month school year. Good luck with that…