What happens to international students?
Currently an analyst with approx 6 months left on OPT. What happens to international students who don't get the h1-b visa? Are firms generally good with transferring people to other offices (assuming it's an EB/BB)?
Also interested to hear if internationals in the US have been able to exit into PE/HF roles? Haven't seen this at my EB even though most Americans exit. Any insights would be much appreciated.
1) What is the overall demand for resources in difficult times? Probably lower, regardless of visa status. IBD is like any other business, if demand for deals drops, so does demand for staff. But this can also be an opportunity for people to pivot towards turn-around/restructuring, LBO/distressed assets and credit facilities. Consider how you can benefit the market in the best way.
2) IF there is demand, the immediate pool will most likely be filled with local staff or staff that does not require expensive paperwork. In times of crisis there tends to be an ethos to stick with your own to help rebuild the nation. Bringing additional people into the workforce who eventually also require a green card sponsorship may not fit the attitude.
3) Risk for government intervention As already seen in the past, the administration needs to showcase it is looking after their own. This situation is their chance to limit foreign employees in gaining certain visa types and/or immigration benefits. It is an election year, after all.
Having said all of these things, WSO is a good resource to figure out which employers still want H1b employees.
Regarding exits: Roles that require significant soft skills and advanced linguistic abilities may not be great for (recent) immigrants. Unless you are from the UK (or comparable nation with English as their first language), English may not be a graduates first language. All of our PE roles are fitted with native speakers in the relevant regions (this does not mean you can not make it).
I think it's retarded that we internationals pay so much fucking money to study in this country and many firms just straight up say we don't sponsor or lie about sponsoring when they really don't.
International analyst at an EB here. Recruited and signed for a PE role in 2021 the past year.
For international analysts that don’t get the H1-B visa, EB’s/BB’s tend to be pretty good with transferring people to other offices (would recommend reaching out to whoever in HR at your EB handles visa processes etc. and inquiring about international mobility). I know a few BB’s that often send internationals to the London or HK office if they don’t receive the H1-B, and I’ve seen international analysts at my current EB transfer to overseas offices after their OPTs expired / they were unable to obtain a H1-B.
Recruiting for buyside was a bit of blackbox, since there are very few internationals on the buyside to speak with. I was really lucky to know one international alum from my school who jumped to buyside from banking, and they had a similar experience to what I’ll echo below. Most internationals end up staying in banking or leaving for overseas offices due to visa issues.
I was very fortunate in that my EB was willing to sponsor my H1-B in my senior year, so I graduated early to have my degree in hand for the application (realized at the time that visa issues would be the biggest obstacle in staying in the US or buyside recruiting, so I touched base with HR shortly after signing my full-time offer). I was even more fortunate to have received it, and I intend on transferring to it before starting in PE.
In terms of the recruiting process, the majority of headhunters stressed that it is extremely difficult to recruit for PE on OPT. Further, they mentioned that there are some firms that flat-out don’t consider internationals at all, even if they have the H1-B; however, I didn’t find this to be the case for the shops I recruited at (UMM / MF). Not sure if this changes as you move to smaller shops (such as how in IB the only firms that take internationals are essentially some BB’s / EB’s and MM / smaller boutique shops tend not to), but I welcome and encourage any other internationals who have recruited to share their experiences so others can have more data points to draw from.
To international students in this thread recruiting for banking – it is certainly an uphill battle, but it’s more than possible and you shouldn’t feel discouraged by the sponsorship obstacles. Give it your best and try to reach out to any international alums from your school in banking who can help shed light on their experiences. If your alumni network is limited, try to cold-email bankers who might be international (e.g. overseas high school on their LinkedIn). I did this for FT recruiting and found internationals are usually very willing to help another international out! Most importantly, remember it is by no means the end of the world or your career if you don’t land an IB offer…… There’s a lot of luck inherent in banking / PE recruiting, and it’s further exacerbated by being an international who has to navigate visa / sponsorship processes. I certainly wouldn’t be in my current position had some things not aligned (e.g. receiving my H1-B so I could recruit) and owe a ton gratitude to the few internationals I spoke with who clarified things here and there.