MBA Concerns for International Applicants

Hi Rohit6,

Thanks for initiating this thread. I would like to ask you few queries regarding H1B visa and other immigration related matters specific to US.

A bit of background about myself. I am from India and I completed my bachelor's of engineering in NUS back in 2014. I am working as an engineer in the manufacturing sector and I am a permanent resident in Singapore. I wish to pursue a MBA like most Indian engineers and want to work in Consulting/Operations. I have been in Singapore for about 7 years now and I want a change of lifestyle for a while.
With this in mind, below are the questions which I have

1. What are the chances of visa failure (H1B) for an Indian post MBA and how many attempts do we have in acquiring the H1B visa ( I heard we have 1 year OPT for business students post MBA) ?

2. Do you know anyone who has completed their MBA in Us and returned back/ moved to Singapore for a job? If yes, what Industry and function they are working in. I understand that Singapore is a small country compared to USA but I would want to know my options when I have completed the MBA. ( FYI , my PR expires in 2021 and I plan to finish my MBA by 2020).


3. What is the average number of years for a person to acquire green card in USA ? What are the disadvantages if we spend 10-15 years waiting for the green card ? Like tax relief, education for kids etc.

4. How many companies on average are willing to relocate their MBA grads to other countries if the student fails to get H1B visa after 1 year OPT period ?

5. How mobile is one if he is on H1B visa and wishes to change his/her job in the USA? The reason is that I want to move to management consultancy and later transition into other industries. I don't want to be constricted just because I am on H1B.

Thanks a lot in advance

I have similar concerns myself. I'll be applying this year to US bschools, however, going by the uncertain visa prospects for job post MBA, I'm unsure about the whole thing.

There have been a few things in terms of both speculations and debates about the topic:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/h-1b-visa-ch ... 33284.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/wsj-internat ... 39548.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/h1b-applicat ... 38326.html

All these questions are for an Immigration expert and not for a GC member. So, whatever you read on the 'forums' take it with utmost caution. That being said, H1B is a lottery system and as such there is a massive element of luck involved. Sometimes what companies do is to send you outside US into one of its offices and bring you back once your H1B gets selected (again, no guarantees here that this will happen). You usually get 2 chances for H1B, 1 during April of the graduation year and 1 at the end of your 1 year OPT.

Then again, no one knows how trump administration is going to modify/change/annul the H1B program. So, until that time, your chances are as good as anyone coming to US for an MBA.

Qs 3, the usual time frame is 10-15 years and each person's situation is different to give you an answer on this.

Qs 4, no one can give you this number as these things change. Sometimes, companies that were sponsoring candidates for H1B stop doing that based on their changed recruiting policies while some companies can restart sponsoring candidates. You should contact schools directly to which you plan to apply for an MBA.

Qs 5, https://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1-transfer.html and https://www.h1base.com/visa/work/H1B%20V ... /ref/1169/ to get you started.

Wondering why is this thread so silent? Seems no one is concerned any more

Rohit6, Hey man, I am starting to walk on the path you have already taken, and I have noticed that you managed to pull of an MBA from Kellogg and also got a job at UAE(as you planned). Kudos for your risk taking ability:-).

I am an Indian applicant with a master's in manufacturing from IIT and Currently working as Senior Engineer at M&M (R&D). Can you help me a bit in understanding the current visa situation in USA?