Pan adds that it would be beneficial to hear more fellow international students’ experiences.

“OCS has so many info sessions, but from what I know, never ones with international students talking about their experience in finance or consulting. It would be helpful to have someone who has gone through the difficulties and struggles, and gotten their visa,” Pan says. “That would quell the fears of some people.”

In addition to peer information sharing, international students say they wish firms could make their policies on international recruitment more transparent.

“[The On-Campus Interview Program] is actually a good screening mechanism for companies who are willing to sponsor international students,” Aydede says. “If they are big enough to sponsor H-1B, they are big enough to go through the ‘trouble’ of OCI.”

Yet complete transparency may prove to be difficult, as companies looking for particular skill sets may make decisions about H-1B visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis.

“Even as a Canadian, [where] culturally there isn’t a huge difference ... the visa is definitely an issue,” Pan says. “In fact, if you were from further away, it would almost seem more worth it. We are so close, but we still need to spend so much on sponsorship.”

—Staff writer Heng Shao can be reached at shao@college.harvard.edu.