In a startling reality, a recent analysis found that foreign graduates often earn significantly more money than natural-born American citizens. The funny thing is, the foreign students usually benefit from taxpayer-funded education and special visa programs. While hardworking Americans struggle to compete in the job market, foreign graduates receive preferential treatment, securing high-paying jobs that should rightfully belong to U.S. citizens.
A study from the National Survey of College Graduates found that in 2023, natural-born U.S. college graduates earned an average salary of $87,000, while those who originally came to the U.S. on student visas made about $115,000 on average. The report noted that critics of high-skilled immigration often claim student visas provide cheap labor that undercuts American workers’ wages. In 2023, roughly 2.1 million full-time, year-round workers in the U.S. first arrived on student visas. The largest groups of foreign-born graduates working in the country came from India and China, with about 372,000 and 303,000, respectively.
The analysis also found that foreign-born workers make more money than U.S. citizens with master’s degrees or doctorates.
The data also shows that foreign graduates are more likely to work in research and development roles or become entrepreneurs, both of which generate positive spillover effects and create job opportunities for American workers.
The report concludes that the rapid growth of the OPT (Optional Practical Training) program over the past decade isn’t mainly due to misuse by schools or students. Instead, it results from the country’s failure to expand other work visa programs to meet increasing demand and economic growth. For example, the H-1B visa has become a lottery-like system where even highly skilled workers and employers willing to pay face low chances of securing a visa.
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This analysis underscores the urgent need for stricter immigration controls and visa program reforms to protect American workers better.
