Congratulations on your Graduation! Now that you have completed degree program in the USA, you now have many options and avenues that you can go down and each option has its own merits and demerits. Choosing the right option will involve a large amount of research and will come down to personal preference - but hopefully, this information guide will help you and point you in the right direction to choose the next step in your international education adventure.

After graduation, international students commonly apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT) or the H-1B visa. The OPT allows graduates to work in their field of study for up to 12 months, with an additional 24-month extension available for STEM graduates.

Work

You can work in the US for up to a year through Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curriculum Practical Training. OPT allows you to work in your field of study, and STEM graduates can extend their OPT for an additional 24 months.

Job Search

Most international students may find it hard to find employment as employers are often reluctant to deal with visa and immigration issues. There are ways around this and we can assist you to find the places to look for employers that are happy to employ international students.

Apply for a visa

You can apply for an H-1B visa, which is a non-immigrant work visa for specialty occupations. You can also petition the U.S. government for a green card if you participate in OPT or CPT and get the appropriate visa.

Graduate School

For most students, the lure of visiting a grad school in the USA and obtain your masters or PhD can be too strong to resist. The USA has some of the very best graduate schools in the whole world, but attending them can be costly, hard to get a place to study and will involve a large amount of hard work.

Returning Home

Many students will want to return home to their home country, and use what they have learnt in the USA to help better their own country. However, moving back from the USA after a 4 year degree can be quite a shock to some students, so our returning home section will provide with helpful hints and tips to ease your transition back home.

Other things you can do after graduating college include:

• Finding full- or part-time work

• Volunteering or getting an internship

Starting your own business

Traveling or working abroad

Taking a gap year

Working for your school

Setting realistic goals