Job difficulties for international students?

International students who had lined up permanent employment on an H-1B visa may find themselves out of a job, according to a Career Services e-mail circulated among students today.

The e-mail notified students of an amendment to the stimulus package proposed by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) that limits firms receiving funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program from hiring international workers on H-1B visas.

Those visas allow employers to hire non-immigrant international workers in a specialized field. International students use the visas for permanent employment, not internships.

Under the amendment, employers must take extra steps to hire foreign workers such as ensuring that international hires do not displace U.S. workers and making a good-faith effort to find U.S. workers to fill positions at wages at least equal to those offered to a potential H-1B employee.

For Penn, which accepts approximately 10 percent of its undergraduate student body from foreign countries each year, these restrictions may pose a problem for international juniors and seniors seeking jobs and internships.

Some Penn students have already had their offers rescinded, said Career Services director Patricia Rose.

She said Career Services is encouraging international students on H-1B visas who have accepted jobs with firms receiving TARP funding - including many banks - to contact their employers to determine if their offers are still being honored.

She added that Career Services is in the process of speaking with employers to determine how much the Penn community will be affected.

"Here's my fear," Rose said. "Banks, for example, use internships as a way to screen potential full-time employees. If they are unable to hire may 2010 graduates for permanent jobs, they will therefore be less likely to hire international students for internships in the summer of 2009."

But Rose stressed that it is just a concern and has not been corroborated with employers.

The Career Services e-mail said the restriction will only last for two years and they will assist students if they need to restart their job search.

It is also not as harsh as the amendment originally proposed, which prohibited TARP-funded firms from hiring any employees with H-1B visas.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.