Why International Students Deserve a Pathway to Stay
There’s been a growing conversation about whether international students should be granted green cards upon graduation.
As an international student, I’ve been paying close attention to this issue. What I found was eye-opening — international students are making a much bigger impact on the United States than many people realize.
Let’s start with the economy. According to the Institute of International Education’s 2024 Open Doors report, international students added nearly $50 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2022–2023 academic year.
That’s not just pocket change — it helped support around 378,000 American jobs. While big states like California, New York, and Texas received the largest boosts, smaller communities and colleges, including Madison College, benefited.
We pay tuition, rent apartments, buy groceries and contribute to the local economy. But there’s more to our presence than just dollars and cents.
International students are driving a force behind innovation and academic progress in this country. At many top-tier universities, a significant portion of graduate students come from abroad.
Tech and research fields are full of international students. Think about Elon Musk or Sergey Brin — both started as international students and went on to change the world.
It’s not just high-profile entrepreneurs either. International students are contributing to critical sectors like biotechnology, AI, and clean energy. Often, their work goes unnoticed, but its impact stretches across industries and communities in the U.S. and beyond.
In June 2024, President Trump expressed support for a new policy granting green cards to international students upon graduation. While the proposal has yet to become law, it represents a major shift from his earlier immigration stances, including the 2017 travel ban.
Last year, over 1.1 million international students were enrolled in American institutions, the highest number ever recorded.
India and China lead the way, but countries like Turkey — with about 10,000 students in the U.S. — continue to grow in presence. Schools like USC, NYU, and Northeastern host thousands of international students annually.
Giving these students a clear path to permanent residency wouldn’t just benefit them — it would strengthen the U.S. by boosting both academic excellence and cultural diversity.
So, when we talk about green cards and immigration policy, let’s not forget the bigger picture. International students don’t just come here to study. We come to grow, contribute, and give back.
We’re part of classrooms, labs, businesses, and communities. We want to stay — and continue building what we started.
Making it easier for international students to stay isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a smart move for the future of the country.