My Advice for International Students in the US (F-1 Visa, OPT, CPT, H-1B)
Hi all. I’m writing this out now since we seem to be in the thick of recruiting season for sophomores. This post is targeted towards college undergraduates that are on their F-1 visa. I went through this process myself a few years ago as an F-1 student and I wish I had this type of advice. I’m posting anonymously to protect my identity, but I’ll try to answer questions in the comments. I’m certainly not an expert but having gone through the pain and bureaucracy of work visas once, I feel like I can help the younger generation out.
1. Which banks hire international students?
A post with this question inevitably pops up once or twice a year on WSO. We love a little bit of crowd-sourced detective work, and from my personal experience, the information on them is around 80% right. The issue with these posts is that usually they rely on stale or misguided information. Banks change their visa policy year-to-year, and what might have been true in 2020 may or may not apply for the 2024 Summer Analyst recruiting process.
The best way to get accurate, up-to-date information is to ask the recruiter. The analysts / associates that you are coffee chatting with, unless they were international students themselves, likely have no clue what the bank’s visa policy is and you’re likely to get inaccurate information from them.
When you ask a recruiter about their visa policy, I would lay out the specifics, i.e. “I’m an international student on an F-1 visa. Do you accept students on OPT / CPT, and if you do, do you hire full-time analysts and sponsor their H-1Bs?” Some recruiters will be clueless and say they’ll get back to you. Some will know off the bat.
2. When should I ask “the question”? i.e. whether the bank will accept international students?
As early as possible, before you expend any time / energy networking or interviewing for the bank.
“Tricking” the bank into giving you an offer before disclosing your status is the dumbest thing you can do. I have a friend that received a written offer from the bank without disclosing her visa status, and once the bank learned of their status, her offer was immediately rescinded.
3. Will being an international student put me at a disadvantage in the recruiting process?
Yes, in two ways.
ONE: You’ll be able to apply to fewer banks, which mechanically reduces your likelihood of receiving an offer, therefore putting you at a disadvantage.
TWO: Hiring outside immigration lawyers to sponsor your H-1B costs money. If the choice is between you and an equally qualified candidate that is a U.S. citizen, they’ll favor the citizen.
I was dejected by this reality when I was recruiting. I saw my peers with similar resumes / experience as me getting far more coffee chats and first rounds. Yes, it's unfair. Yes, it's disappointing. But the only way to fight this disadvantage is to prep harder, network more, and be an undeniably stronger candidate than the rest of the crowd.
I’m sure I’ve missed some topics, so I’ll come back to edit this post with additional information when time allows. Again, I’ll be answering any questions in the comments if you have any, but will not be accepting / sending DMs to protect my anonymity. Thanks all and good luck to you in the 2024 Summer Analyst hunger games.
Thanks for the detailed post! Were you at a target? How did you approach networking as an international? Did you target more international students in IB or just cast a wide net? Would love if you could PM me.
1. Were you at a target?
Without giving away my anonymity, I'll say that I've seen fellow international students from targets and semi-targets in the industry.
2. How did you approach networking as an international?
Once I got confirmation that the bank accepted international students, I approached networking just like anyone else would.
3. Did you target more international students in IB or just cast a wide net?
I cast a wide net. It really didn't matter whether the analyst / associate I was speaking to was also an international student. I spoke to everyone and anyone I could get on the phone with.
Also don't forget that MBB and FAANG are options. International at a target, now MBB, and most of my international friends ended up at MBB; they don't discriminate at all in the hiring process.
For BBs, GS and the EBs are pretty reliably visa sponsors and do not discriminate against us much. The rest is up in the air.
Some PE MFs do hire internationals but they are even more selective than usual. I'd advise going to a MF with international offices such that you can transfer there if the H1B process doesn't work out.
I generally agree with the above poster. A lot of my international friends ended up in MBB and FAANG, those two are a lot more accepting of international students than IB.
But I would shy away from generalizations like this sentence: "For BBs, GS and the EBs are pretty reliably visa sponsors and do not discriminate against us much." As of the last time I checked, a lot of BBs and EBs had begun taking international students on a "case by case basis", which I understand as international students receiving differentiated treatment. There are also several smaller boutiques that will take international students with open arms.
Agree on the PE side. When I did on-cycle recruiting, I ran into a lot of the same trouble. I had to be very up-front with my headhunters about my visa status.
Did you end up receiving any PE offers in the US, or are you going back to your country for PE?
The only reliable sponsors visa afaik from networking is EVR and GS. Everyone else ranges from office dependent to case-by-case to a black box.
BBs including GS, MS (at least Menlo Park), BofA, CS (historically has), DB, UBS, and maybe RBC sponsor. As for EBs, it depends. EVC and PJT do, but Lazard has been case by case basis I think, and PWP doesn't sponsor. CVP didn't sponsor my year, but might have changed it since, so not sure. In any case, there are many more positions at BBs than EBs for international students.
Just went through the 2023 SA recruiting process last year as an international with 3-year OPT at a target and can corroborate everything OP stated.
Few things to add:
1.) It's not as simple these days as it was 5 years ago to simply ask recruiters/HR about their sponsorship policies. For optics (to remain politically correct/non-discriminatory in the public eye), most will simply say their sponsorship policy is "case-by-case" rather than giving u an outright answer like "no, we don't sponsor, now fuck off." Also, on top of the changes in sponsorship policies year-to-year, a lot of weird shit goes on behind the scenes where they sponsor some, like diversity candidates or Canadians, but not others.
2.) Because of 1.), u kind of have to solely rely on WSO threads that aggregate bank sponsorship policies. There's usually a mega-thread that's posted every year just before SA recruiting kicks off. Link below for the 2024 SA bank sponsorship thread:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/2024-sa-visa-s…
Hey OP, which banks are friendly to Canadians? Were most Canadians hired using NAFTA? And from your experience were the cdns mostly random/ppl that applied online/network or those who already had connections at the bank? Thanks a lot!
Unfortunately, I can't be very helpful on this front as I don't have a lot of experience with the Canadian work visas and don't want to share any potential information. My general understanding from my 2 Canadian friends is that both the TN visa and H-1B are available to Canadians, but they tend to favor the H-1B for some reason. Unsure why that is.
I'm not OP but since u replied to my comment:
1.) no bank will explicitly disclose they r friendly to Canadians but not other internationals, that would be blatant discrimination. However, from trial and error of past candidates, usually the banks with Canadian offices r more open since they can transfer u to the Canadian office in case u don't get selected for the H1B. However, after the TN-1 reform which removed financial analysts as an approved occupation, less and less banks have been open to Canadians. I remember banks like Greenhill, Macquarie, RBC, which have offices in Toronto, used to all be fairly open to Canadians but not anymore.
2.) No, banks don't sponsor Canadians directly on TN-1 anymore due to its reform that I mentioned above. What I meant was banks are more open to Canadian students studying at target US schools who have 3 year OPT and an additional TN-1 visa as a backup in case they don't get selected for H1B. Thus, hiring a Canadian poses less risk than ur average international. However, due to the TN reform, this is y u see less and less Canadian kids attending Canadian schools, like Western Ivey and Queens, coming down to the states compared to 10 years ago. Most who do are dual citizens to begin with and don't have go thru this H1B hurdle.
3.) U have to network and develop connections with banks to get in. No-one just cold applies/resume drops and gets in. This is not exclusive to internationals, domestic kids have to hustle and network as well.
Agree with you there. From my experience speaking to folks in the class above / below me, it seems fewer and fewer banks sponsor every year. I also interpret "case-by-case basis" as a "most likely no, but if you're an extremely qualified candidate, then maybe." There are also different work visas available to Australians, Canadians, and citizens from other specific countries, so there's also very many exceptions.
You stated that deceiving them without revealing your status is not advisable, but what if you have no intention of going back to them? I have received an offer from a bank that sponsors international students, but the CPT authorization process only requires them to provide a letter which they have to do anyway. I plan to then seek full-time recruitment with other banks that offer such opportunities. Is this a risky move?
I think this is quite risky. When you start your internship at the bank, you typically have to go through I-9 work verification, so your employer will probably find out your work status anyways. My understanding (could be wrong here) is that if the company you work for is not an E-verify employer, they may have to rescind your internship offer once they do the customary work authorization checks.
You stated that the bank you got an offer for sponsors international students anyways, so I'm not quite sure what the benefit is of not telling them your work status. Please let me know if there's something I'm missing.
Edit: this is for Summer 23, not FT
My bad, I meant that they don't sponsor international students for entry-level but do for higher positions. It's a large Japanese bank. For context, I understand the E-verify thing slipped my mind. However, I did an internship last summer with a PE firm that doesn't sponsor international students, but they didn't have an issue with verification. I just had to turn in my papers, and that was it. I was hoping for the same outcome this time.
I have seen some classmates attempt this and it never goes well. They usually say they don't need H1B sponsorship because they'll be dipping for PE within 2 years and they have 3 years OPT so H1B isn't necessary. However, when they state this in interviews they pre much get auto dinged because no interviewer wants to hear that ur already planning on leaving the firm before even beginning regardless of ur visa status or how supportive the firm is of buyside recruiting.
How much of this matters for those who can use an H1B1 visa?
Completely applicable — it’s stilla visa at the end of the day. The “guaranteed” nature of it doesn’t matter, as OPT is by definition also guaranteed, but still a factor for firms to think about when considering a candidate.
Interesting. OPT is guaranteed, but the H1B visa isn't while the H1B1 is. Does that not make a difference? After all, firms would have less hurdles to jump through and less risk to take on if their hiring isn't contingent on a visa lottery.
Hey OP, great post! I'm a new user to WSO and curious if you've worked with any Canadians so far? Esp. from non-target schools? I wanna move to the US as my SO is have a family friend who is a MD at one of (GS/JPM/MS/UBS). I really wanna be settled on my own before getting hitched but am at a lost to how Cdns are hired FT in the US? Have u met anyone hired under NAFTA? Would being a actg major help? Thx! Do intl benefit from diversify recruiting? I'm a girl if that helps. New to the banking world but was recd by the MD to try it out. Would this be seen as a conflict of int. or would I be allowed to work under him? Thx!O
So I'm not super familiar with how the TN visas work for Canadians, so I'll answer the other parts of your question.
I've worked with / seen 2 Canadians in IB so far, both from Ivey. I don't see how being an acting major would help, unfortunately. International students don't typically benefit from diversity recruiting, as in "international" is not a "category" under diversity. Being a woman would be considered diversity at most banks. I don't think working under your family friend would count as a conflict of interest, but I'm also certainly no HR expert.
I think she meant accounting major lol.
OP pre much answered u but ima give another perspective:
1.) accounting major doesn't really help with recruiting but helps with TN visa in case u needed to apply for it since accountant is an approved occupation for TN but finance/financial analyst isn't.
2.) International student status by itself is not considered diversity but if u meant if internationals can participate in diversity recruiting then yes. Ur international student status and need for sponsorship, which is a minus, gets somewhat canceled out by ur diversity status as woman, which is a plus. This is where the "case by case" sponsorship policy gets murky. Usually banks that aren't typically open to sponsorship unless ur dad is a senior MD/partner at the firm or ur an ultra-elite candidate may sponsor u for the sake of reaching their diversity quota. However, most of these international diversity candidates that I've seen were already attending target US schools to begin with so ur non-target school + need for sponsorship would a be a -2 negative which can't be offset by ur diversity status which is only +1, netting out to -1 if u know what I mean.
3.) Ur family connection can only help u with recruiting if he/she works in IBD, not some other division like S&T or wealth management. If he/she does indeed work in IBD, it would only be a conflict of interest if u work directly in his group. For example, if ur friend is MD of UBS healthcare IB, HR will likely bar u from joining that particular group during group placement process.
side note: don't put UBS in the same phrase with GS/JPM/MS, makes it really obvious since UBS is NOT on the same tier as the big 3.
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I'm gonna stop answering ur questions because now ur beginning to hijack the thread and going off topic. Go make ur own thread and post ur questions there.
Hi sorry but it won't let me post more than 100 characters for a new thread.
You really did hijack his thread and wrote pointless name drop novels.
TN visa; Accountant means a full CPA not someone who studied accounting. Most valuable majors for TN visa is economics or engineering. Nothing in Business will work.
Schools; Just name the schools saying 1000+ who eff knows could be UBV/UToronto etc
Family Connections; These guys are prolly appeasing a connection you have to help you, they do no care beyond that. So use them as well. You should also network and do your own path.
One last notes for Canadians only reason there is a slight leg-up to the rest is that Canadians can pass thru the HB1 process easier than others. TN visa is basically useless for banking with the new rules now. But know example of someone who worked in nyc, then toronto then moved down with the firm hirm higher up etc…
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Hi, I'm also an international student. Can I get summer internships while in college as a F-1 Visa student?
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