This is dumb. I attended Penn State and Georgetown as an international student, getting 2 degrees from 1997-2004. I paid full tuition, spare one year of scholarships, at both. After graduating, I struggled for YEARS to find a job that offered a residency visa. https://twitter.com/carney/status/1281047218192031745

I ultimately became a permanent resident after marrying an American citizen, who I remain married to. Getting a student visa did not ease my path to residency, maybe other than letting me attend a university where I met my future wife.

International students largely can’t work off campus, so it’s not like they’re “stealing” jobs. And simply remaining in the U.S. while they do online classes literally means nothing for their future residency prospects. Getting an H-1B visa is... hard is a very light word.

Many of the international students I know off ended up going back home. And they went with an American education and, in many cases, a newfound appreciation of what America can offer. It’s probably one of the U.S.’s most cost-effective soft power programs.

That original tweet did make one true point: universities want to keep international students because they pay full tuition in most cases. But it also says something about higher ed that universities don’t want to lose them because of how that could impact what others pay.

Finally, even if you buy the idea that universities are “selling” residence, think about it: they are letting people live here temporarily who don’t take jobs and largely spend a lot of money. It’s like tourism, but on a longer timeframe.