Foreign alums cope with visa troubles – Via The Yale Daily News

Via The Yale Daily News

After
studying at Yale for four years, Semih Salihoglu ’06 was ready to
continue his life in the United States as a software engineer for
Google in New York City.

A Turkish citizen, Salihoglu was a computer science and
economics double major and holder of the highest grade-point average in
Silliman College after seven terms – an ideal candidate for many jobs
in the United States. But his plans were disrupted when he was denied
the necessary visa for employment for foreign workers with the
equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or higher, the H-1B.

“It was shocking because no one thought there was any risk in not getting an H-1B visa,” Salihoglu said.

Salihoglu is one of many foreign graduating seniors who were
unable to obtain H-1B visas this year due to increasing demand. Months
later, they continue to deal with the ramifications of the visa
shortage, and pending immigration legislation may or may not raise the
visa cap for the coming fiscal year.

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