Nina To/The Cougar
The Trump administration announced new H-1B visa rules in September 2025, including a $100,000 fee for H-1B specialty occupation workers currently outside the U.S.
These rule changes will affect the estimated 10% of the UH student population that are international as they seek to join the workforce. These students will not only have to break into one of the toughest job markets since COVID-19 but also need to find an employer willing to sponsor their visas.
One international PhD candidate in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who has asked to remain anonymous over concerns about their visa, fears that the new rules will bar them from being able to apply to jobs.
“After I graduate from graduate school, I will need an H-1B visa to get a job,” the PhD candidate said. “My biggest concern is that visa issues might prevent me from getting a job even if I receive an offer, or that I might not even be able to apply in the first place because of visa restrictions.”
Other students have experienced similar fear and trepidation. Another PhD student from Europe is staying in school even longer just to buy themselves time in the U.S. The student chose to remain anonymous over fears that the new rules will bar them from being able to apply to jobs.
“Before all this, I had a clear plan,” the PhD student said. “I came here with the intention of building a career and a life in the U.S. after graduating, but there is so much uncertainty right now that I have started considering options I never thought about before, like pursuing more school just to buy time and stability.”
Both students experience an anxiety that haunts their everyday life. The PhD student describes it as a quiet anxiety that is always lingering, especially when dealing with public officials. The PhD candidate has not returned home since September, as they are worried they would be stranded there and not allowed to return to continue their studies.
Both students fear that with the ever-changing visa environment, their hard work in the last couple of years will amount to nothing if they are forced to return to their home countries without completing their degree.
Despite the difficulties and worries they face, the two students said that one thing has helped them through these hard times is friendship.
“Many international students come to study abroad alone without their families, so we often have to deal with various problems by ourselves,” the PhD candidate said. “On top of that, the fear of possibly being deported due to visa issues, along with heightened concerns about future employment, creates significant psychological stress. In times like this, having even one or two friends who look out for me makes me feel truly grateful.”
The PhD student has similarly expressed gratitude for the support of friends.
“It means more than I can say to feel seen and not alone in this,” the PhD student said. “I’d want people to know that these gestures matter.”
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