International students & IB internships in the US
Is the selection process for IB internships any different for international students than it is for US ones? Is getting a visa complicated? Do we need a higher GPA maybe? I go to a target school.
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The selection process is the same. GPA requirements are the same. The paperwork you have to fill out is what differs, in that you will have to intern on what is called optional practical training (OPT) status. This might be perceived by an employer as extra hoops to jump through but depending on the size of the firm, they may have well encountered similar applicants in the past. There is a limited amount of time you can be on OPT during your 4 years at college; think it's 12 months or something like that. Check with your international student office, it's been a while since I graduated. After you graduate you need to get sponsored for an H1B work visa and that process is slightly more complicated and burdensome for the firm that hires you. There is an annual cap for these, something like only 65k/year. PM me for more details if needed. Good luck!
On F1 I would use CPT and not OPT, especially for internships. There are a few exceptions but that would be specific to the school and/or the internship (i.e. the school does not allow internships as part of their curriculum would be one reason). Using up the OPT is ideally closer to or after graduation (but, generally speaking, it can be used after 12 months of full-time enrollment ).
NPR just referenced a few more details about the current OPT/H1b situation, no clear sources but it reflects a more current situation. https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/07/10/599219792/u-s-degree-check-u…
It is different in the sense that ~85% of the banks don’t sponsor this year. So after you apply your application won’t even show up on their end
how would you know that
A couple of friends and I did some research because we currently have folks who are not getting a FT offer. They are internationals and, while we don't have an actual percentage or number, the vast majority got that feedback as well. No sponsorships available. It would be good to have some kind of table or database within WSO or at least a thread with feedback from HR about this. This is an excellent group to do this within finance opportunities.
It's definitely different. Why would a company hire an international student with the same GPA and background over a student with US citizenship or green card? Plus, the company will have to worry what if the international student hired doesn't end up getting h1b, which is like lottery rn. You definitely need to have better GPA, more solid internships and, what I think the most important, better extracurricular activities which can show that you fit well into the US culture. So you definitely need to grind harder than those who will not worry about sponsorship.
how about Canadians studying in the US (most of which could easily pass off as American). Also, they're possibly eligible for TN status as well
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