• ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    I have no idea why the USA spends money on training international students until they get their PhD and then doesn’t automatically give them permanent residency. One guy I know came from Iran to get his physics PhD and although he has managed to stay in the USA with a work visa, by default the USA would have sent him back to Iran!

    • tburkhol@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Foreign students pay full tuition, with no state contribution. Lots of universities have increased foreign admissions specifically to address declining state allocations. Science grad schools, where grants pay the student’s tuition & stipend are a different question, but a lot of funding mechanisms, including some US gov’t, bar foreign nationals.

      The whole pool of foreign students are great, though: top students in their home country, generally from families wealthy in their home country, highly motivated & ambitious. Many/most of them seek college in the US hoping it will be a stepping stone to employment and permanent residence. I can understand why even a xenophobe like Trump would make an exception for students.