'I physically can't go home'
International seniors fear being sent home as they struggle to find employment during a pandemic
College seniors around the country have seen their last few months of undergraduate experience fade away after the coronavirus pandemic forced universities to close their campuses and transition classes online.
In addition to missing out on send-off events and in-person commencements, graduates of the class of 2020 are also entering what is being called the worst job market in years. With the unemployment rate reaching 14.7% in April, students are finding it difficult to find a job.
For graduating international students, like Elon University senior Isabel Blanco Araujo, this causes added stress. Not only is the job market hard to enter, but these students are on a timeline. If they are not employed within the allotted time, they will be forced to return home.
“Going back home is not an option for me,” Blanco Araujo said. “It's not a restriction that I imposed on myself.”
As a Venezuelan native, Blanco Araujo fears going back to a nation in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. She says her opportunities will be limited and her safety will be at risk. Not only this but as a result of travel restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, traveling back to the country is nearly impossible.
“Right now I physically can't go home,” Blanco Araujo said.
When she first arrived at Elon four years ago, Blanco Araujo said she thought she would move back to her home country after graduating. But, in that time, the situation in Venezuela has only worsened.
She says she wants to work for at least a year in the United States before continuing her education in a graduate program.
“I have to make really big decisions and, just think about, way more into the future than maybe someone else that is graduating right now,” Blanco Araujo said.
In order to remain in the United States after graduating from college, international students must apply for Optional Practical Training, an unguaranteed extension to their visa allowing them to work in their field of study for up to 12 months. In addition to a $410 non-refundable payment, students have to fill out an extensive application and request letters of recommendation.
“It was definitely an investment for me to be able to do that because it came out of my own pocket,” Blanco Araujo said.
Despite applying to multiple jobs in psychology, her field of study, Blanco Araujo has yet to find employment.
An already difficult situation for international students has been made harder by the effects of the coronavirus on the economy and immigration policies.
In April, the administration began suspending the entry of most new immigrants for at least two months. And on May 11, four Republican U.S. senators called for the suspension of the OPT program.
“While the merits of such a program are subject to debate, there is certainly no reason to allow foreign students to stay for three additional years just to take jobs that would otherwise go to unemployed Americans as our economy recovers,” they said in a letter.
Once the year of work is finished, employers must sponsor these students in order for them to remain in the country. This is once again an expensive and uncertain process that many employers are unwilling to risk.
That is why Elon senior Lucia Safie says she will have to work extra hard to prove she deserves to be sponsored.
“You have to prove yourself even more for the same position of someone who maybe doesn't care or, you know, does the minimum effort,” Safie said.
The El Salvador native was accepted to participate in a six-month marketing co-op with Wayfair, a company that has employed international Elon graduates in the past.
For Safie, gaining work experience in the United States is a goal she set for herself when she applied to Elon.
“I can learn so much more from companies that are much more developed and much more technologically innovative,” Safie said. “And then take it back home, and then be able to put all that knowledge into there and help, you know, my country after.”
Despite having secured a job, Safie has still not received confirmation that her OPT has been approved.
“Having this process that's completely out of your control, and you did everything you can do and you already have the steps after that. It's just very nerve-wracking,” Safie said.
Both Blanco Araujo and Safie said they felt supported by Elon’s Global Education Center as they applied for the OPT and particularly during the uncertainty that has ensued as a result of the coronavirus.
Elon’s Associate Director of International Student Services Kristen Aquilino has worked with her team at the GEC to send six updates to the 399 international students at Elon detailing changes in university policies and immigration laws and providing support and resources.
However, Safie said while she felt a similar level of support from the staff at the Student Professional Development Center, she felt they didn’t have much knowledge of the intricacies of international students seeking employment.
“The thing is they want to help you, they have the right intentions,” Safie said. “I just feel they were not trained appropriately.”
Blanco Araujo said her experience was similar.
“It’s been kind of unfortunate that the SPDC, I don't think they have that understanding of what it is to be an international student looking for this kind of job and how they can help you best,” she said.
Safie has taken it upon herself to help future students in her position by working with the GEC and the SPDC to create career workshops tailored to international students. She has also started a database detailing companies that have employed other international alumni.
“I don't want other students that come here to go through the same thing as me,” Safie said.
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