What does the Trump Presidency mean for international students studying in the US?

Surprise surprise! Who knew The Don resonated so well with the American people. We’ll find out in a few years if this was a good decision or not. In the meantime…

The next natural thought is “How will this affect me and my lifestyle?”

Will Donald Trump build a mental ‘Wall’ with the rest of the world and crush my aspirations to be the next Steve Jobs?

Let’s take an in-depth look at this:

• Local supply doesn’t meet demand –
  Honestly, no matter how much he would want to change this rule, the businessman in him knows better than anyone else the value that international skilled workers bring to USA. He knows that 75% of them stay back and add significantly to the GDP of America. I mean where would the economy be without us international students?
  
  He knows that local grown graduates are not in enough numbers to fill the rate of job growth. Oh and since he promises to bring MORE JOBS, he definitely needs more people to fill those jobs. This is not even commenting on the quality of the local graduates. Let’s not go there. 
  
• If Job Growth increases –
  Maybe I should say, when job growth increases, of course, the skilled workers have to come from somewhere. Some will be filled by locals, most will come from this highly qualified international pool of students. Don’t worry, this won’t change. In fact I can see this dependency only increasing. There really was no change when a Republican like George Bush came into power.
  
• How will the student loan industry and colleges make money –
  In the interest of business, these two industries will continue to rake in profit of international students in need of a better opportunities. The Don won’t let this change. International students need higher loans than local students. These industries are thriving off international students and IT DEFINITELY won’t change anytime soon. Bad business tactics!

So how will this affect your life?

• Number of Student Visas issued –
  The number of visas issued won’t change. The process won’t change. The emotions may change amongst the American people with white supremacy getting a win over others. To counter this, show that you belong in America (not by wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap) but by being polished and confident that you have a place in society here; show that you are going to be a contributing member of society; that you have a vision for your life here in the US. Prepare an elevator pitch before the visa interview and pitch it. This should really just come out of your statement of purpose.
  
• Number of H1B Visas issued –
  It’s cute that you think his top agenda item would be to reduce the number of work visas, but that won’t happen anytime soon. There are so many more important and pressing national issues that The Don would have to take care of first. Again, since America is lacking in well-qualified, highly skilled white-collar workers, the number and the process of issuing a H1B shouldn’t change. It would be in America’s best interest.
  
• Volatility in job market –
  Ah! This is a tough one. The first year or two will be volatile because of all the uncertainty surrounding The Don, his policies and his governing style. Twitter stocks will definitely take a jump with his 3AM major policy announcements on Twitter. To compensate for volatility, companies may not hire as quickly as they would have under Hillary. Spending will slow down initially, but on the flip side, Republicans usually give huge tax breaks to corporations and this will counteract the volatility in the job market.
  

It’s only fear surrounding The Don, don’t give in to it. Don’t change your plans, because nothing will have changed here. There is a whole part of the economy being sustained by international students and foreign skilled workers.

The takeaway – For once in our lives, we are actually wanted and valued. WOOHOO!!!