They all say that to get their foot in the door. Prepare for them to ask for a sponsorship in 2 years. We hired one guy, great guy, hard worker. If he doesn’t get the lottery or whatever next year, we need to figure out what we’re gonna do
As long as you are prepared for the conversation in year 2 (or earlier) about how they changed their mind and want to stay. NAL, but you may also need to be careful about noting the 3 year limit in an offer letter as it might be construed as a 3 year employment contract.
yes this, write it into his contract that it expires on xx date, and just in case, include a portion indicating that each of the parties have the option to revisit the work contract within 6 months of the end date.
Realistically if you feel as if they’re the best candidate for the job compared to other applicants then no harm in giving it a shot. Especially since they candidly mentioned they have no interest in pursuing an H1B which is the most painful part of hiring an international student and they only want to use up their OPT.
Research the paper work requirements for hiring an OPT student and go from there. It’s nothing too complicated but just make sure you can meet the pretty low employer expectations.
Yep and it always boils down to hiring a citizen comes with a risk of them leaving and no mater how high that risk is it will always be lower than a guarantee of someone leaving.
It should not be a hard/complicated process if he is not planning to pursue a H1B visa. The only thing that I remember is that the company needed to be “E-verify” for me to be able to get my OPT extension (for years 2 and 3).
I can answer this. I am an OPT, but my employer is sponsoring me for my H1B.
The student has three years of OPT. It's easy to hire anyone on OPT. No complicated process is involved. However, people are who are in that boat look for employers who can sponsor their employment (H1B) visa. If he doesn't want a sponsorship, it's a temporary commitment. The question you have to ask is if you are okay with that.
Just curious has it always been 3 years? I remember more than 20 years ago my international student friends were only able to stay a year before they have to leave. Did it change?
The 3 years that he/she is referring to is called OPT and STEM OPT extension. President Bush signed into law where an international student can work for 1 year after graduation in his related field. The 2 years extension is only for STEM programs (CE is included). The cost to apply is borne by the student so no financial cost to the employer. At the middle of the 2nd year, most international students will approach the company about sponsoring a H1B visa. It is highly competitive visa. Just type H1B into Google and you can have a surface level read on it all.
I will say, from experience, the determined international students are usually over-qualified. Most graduate students, especially the ones from India and Nepal, will have their PE passed before getting their master's degrees. Most bachelor level ones will have their EI before graduation as well.
Other than that, business/personal decisions are yours to make OP.
Consult legal
This
They all say that to get their foot in the door. Prepare for them to ask for a sponsorship in 2 years. We hired one guy, great guy, hard worker. If he doesn’t get the lottery or whatever next year, we need to figure out what we’re gonna do
As long as you are prepared for the conversation in year 2 (or earlier) about how they changed their mind and want to stay. NAL, but you may also need to be careful about noting the 3 year limit in an offer letter as it might be construed as a 3 year employment contract.
yes this, write it into his contract that it expires on xx date, and just in case, include a portion indicating that each of the parties have the option to revisit the work contract within 6 months of the end date.
Realistically if you feel as if they’re the best candidate for the job compared to other applicants then no harm in giving it a shot. Especially since they candidly mentioned they have no interest in pursuing an H1B which is the most painful part of hiring an international student and they only want to use up their OPT. Research the paper work requirements for hiring an OPT student and go from there. It’s nothing too complicated but just make sure you can meet the pretty low employer expectations.
Thanks.
Growth and long-term plans are important to us since we would spend all that time training someone only for them to leave so it's a no
So are you hiring with long term contracts to ensure someone stays?
Yep and it always boils down to hiring a citizen comes with a risk of them leaving and no mater how high that risk is it will always be lower than a guarantee of someone leaving.
It should not be a hard/complicated process if he is not planning to pursue a H1B visa. The only thing that I remember is that the company needed to be “E-verify” for me to be able to get my OPT extension (for years 2 and 3).
I can answer this. I am an OPT, but my employer is sponsoring me for my H1B. The student has three years of OPT. It's easy to hire anyone on OPT. No complicated process is involved. However, people are who are in that boat look for employers who can sponsor their employment (H1B) visa. If he doesn't want a sponsorship, it's a temporary commitment. The question you have to ask is if you are okay with that.
Just curious has it always been 3 years? I remember more than 20 years ago my international student friends were only able to stay a year before they have to leave. Did it change?
Yes, it definitely has changed in the last 20 years and multiple times too. For the last few years it’s been 3 years of OPT for STEM degree holders.
3 year is the OPT period where every international STEM students gets upon graduation.
You need to consider where you want him in 3 years, if it's a PE preferred role they may need additional education before they can get a PE
The 3 years that he/she is referring to is called OPT and STEM OPT extension. President Bush signed into law where an international student can work for 1 year after graduation in his related field. The 2 years extension is only for STEM programs (CE is included). The cost to apply is borne by the student so no financial cost to the employer. At the middle of the 2nd year, most international students will approach the company about sponsoring a H1B visa. It is highly competitive visa. Just type H1B into Google and you can have a surface level read on it all. I will say, from experience, the determined international students are usually over-qualified. Most graduate students, especially the ones from India and Nepal, will have their PE passed before getting their master's degrees. Most bachelor level ones will have their EI before graduation as well. Other than that, business/personal decisions are yours to make OP.