A number of U.S. colleges are using a legal ambiguity to help international entrepreneurs stay in America after graduating by hiring them upon graduation. While most foreign students would be required to compete for one of the United States’ 85,000 annual H-1B visas through its lottery system after graduation, federal rules state that employees of universities or companies that serve them are exempt from this system.
As it stands, at least six different colleges have announced plans to hire foreign graduates on a part-time basis or allow them to house their companies on campus as a means of qualifying for this exemption. Babson College is now starting its own program, following the introduction of a similar program at the University of Massachusetts.
While these “global entrepreneur in residence programs” provide an opportunity for both colleges to attract talented youth and for foreign workers to more easily pursue employment opportunities in America, critics in Congress have said that the practice’s legality is questionable. Since the provision to exempt university employees from the H-1B lottery was originally created to help colleges hire researchers, certain members of congress have called the practice an exploitation of a legal loophole and a “backhanded attempt” to skirt federal rules.
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