H1B 2025 Results

guys is it worth it? prospective grad student in the US. currently in the UK, should i just stay here? or is the h1b process okay? 

Second year analyst here (ignore title). My reflection:

- Very much worth it if you're a woman or a person of color. Recruiting here is extremely tough for internationals when you don't have a diversity booster, even at an M7 program. I personally know a lot of people from my country who got into good MBA programs but got very few IB interviews let alone offer.

- ^. The same pattern follows on who they pick for laying off, even if you have good performance.

- Only worth it if you're doing an M7 program, as those place candidates better into investment banking. Would ignore anything below top 10 when you're an international candidate. I'm thinking of doing an MBA too so I know this. Alums told me the same.

- Immigration will only get worse from now. Illegal immigrants are getting green cards faster than my colleagues and me who do it the legal way. It's tough because when Trump wins the election, both illegal and legal immigration will get curbed. Problem is for the H1B, there are lots of fraudulent applications from overseas (India), but USCIS isn't going to fix that any time soon because more applications means more fees for them. Legal immigration is not pressing enough of an issue for the either Republicans or Democrats to fix. Think about it - do they gain extra voters if they fix legal immigration? Nope.

- ^ lottery odds have decreased from 40-50% per year in 2015 to 10-20% these days. Odds only got worse over time.

- Overall I'm just a slightly pessimistic and objective person, but if this is your dream and you can afford it without going into too much debt, go for it! :)