Immigration Insider Tips: How Can International Students Stay in the U.S. After Graduation?

Unlawful Pathways to Stay

1. Marriage to a U.S. Citizen

   While living an underground life in the U.S., if you meet and marry a U.S. citizen you truly love, you can then seek our assistance to legalize your status after obtaining a marriage certificate. However, two critical conditions must be met: first, the marriage must be bona fide (not a sham); second, you must not have a history of filing an asylum application or a criminal record.
2. Government Amnesty

   Occasionally, the U.S. government may announce an amnesty program that allows undocumented immigrants to regularize their status. However, international students considering overstaying their visas should not count on this luck. The timing of amnesty programs is unpredictable, and there is no guarantee that one will ever be announced. By the time an amnesty is declared, you may already be well into your senior years.

• If you overstay your nonimmigrant status by more than 6 months before departing the U.S., you will be barred from re-entering the U.S. for 3 years.
• If you overstay by more than 1 year, you will face a 10-year re-entry ban.

Lawful Pathways to Stay

Temporary Stay

Permanent Residency

1. EB-1A Extraordinary Ability

   If you have published numerous academic papers, achieved outstanding accomplishments in your field, and can provide additional evidence of your leading status (e.g., awards, invitations to peer-review academic work), you may be eligible to apply for EB-1A extraordinary ability immigration.
2. EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)

   If you have published several academic papers, earned excellent achievements in your field, and the work you are engaged in serves the U.S. national interest, you may qualify for the EB-2 National Interest Waiver.
   Both EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are self-petitioned categories that do not require employer sponsorship. They are particularly well-suited for international students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.
3. Employment-Based Immigration (Labor Certification)

   If you are not in a STEM field and have not published academic papers, but you have a U.S. employer willing to sponsor your green card application, you may pursue permanent residency through employment-based immigration—commonly known as labor certification or employment-based immigration.
   This is one of the most common pathways for international students to obtain green cards. Our firm handles such cases on a daily basis and has processed tens of thousands of labor certification applications over the past 25 years.
   The advantage of this pathway is that 99% of applications are successful as long as the employer provides full support and required documentation. However, the downside is that the application process will be interrupted or terminated if the employer withdraws support or if the student changes employers mid-process. As a result, labor certification applications are complex, time-consuming, and often subject to long visa backlogs.
   That said, if you are married and your spouse was born in a different country, you may be able to use your spouse’s country of chargeability to access a visa category with no backlog or a shorter waiting period—accelerating your green card process.

Fastest Pathways to Permanent Residency

1. Marriage-Based Immigration

   If you have a romantic relationship in the U.S. and marry a U.S. citizen, you can apply for a green card through marriage-based immigration. This is the fastest and most cost-effective immigration pathway available. The key requirement is that the marriage must be bona fide. Additionally, since the initial green card issued through this pathway is a 2-year conditional permanent resident card, you must apply to remove the conditions within 90 days before the 2-year expiration date to obtain a permanent green card.
   If you marry a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), you may also apply for marriage-based immigration. However, this pathway may be subject to visa backlogs. The spouse seeking adjustment of status must maintain a valid independent nonimmigrant status in the U.S. until their priority date becomes current.
   If you marry a foreign national who is in the process of applying for employment-based immigration, you may be eligible to be included as a dependent on your spouse’s application and obtain a green card along with them.
   Marriage-based immigration cases can be complex, and eligibility and procedures vary on a case-by-case basis. Our firm handles marriage-based immigration applications almost daily—feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
2. EB-5 Investment Immigration

   EB-5 investment immigration is the second fastest pathway for international students to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.
   U.S. President Trump announced his $5 million "Gold Card" investment immigration program yesterday (March 25, 2025), causing widespread concern. In reality, this is merely a proposal and not yet official law.
   The current EB-5 program, which requires a minimum investment of $800,000, remains valid and enforceable. Neither Trump’s proposal nor any executive order he signs can override the existing EB-5 legislation. Unless formally repealed by the U.S. Congress, the current EB-5 program will remain in effect until at least September 30, 2027.
   However, Trump’s $5 million "Gold Card" proposal serves as a warning: the current U.S. government views granting green cards to foreign nationals and their families in exchange for an $800,000 investment as a bad deal. The cost of EB-5 investment immigration will likely increase in the future. Readers who meet the eligibility criteria or are interested in applying for EB-5 should consider acting soon instead of delaying.
   The EB-5 investment immigration application has only two core requirements:
   • Can you provide the $800,000 investment capital?
   • Can you submit documentation to prove the lawful source of the $800,000 investment?
   The approval of an EB-5 application primarily depends on two factors:
   1. Whether the immigration officer accepts the lawful source of the investment funds.
   2. Whether the selected EB-5 project can be completed in accordance with its business plan.
   If both conditions are satisfied, the EB-5 investor and their family members will all be eligible to obtain U.S. permanent residency.
   Like marriage-based immigration, the initial green card issued through EB-5 is a 2-year conditional permanent resident card. To remove the conditions, the investor must file an application before the 2-year expiration date. As long as the investment project does not fail midway, obtaining a permanent green card is only a matter of time.
   Now is still an excellent time to apply for the $800,000 EB-5 program. International students filing an EB-5 petition can simultaneously submit Form I-485 to adjust their status (a process known as concurrent filing). Within 5–6 months, they can obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole, formally transitioning out of nonimmigrant status (such as F-1 or H-1B) while waiting for their green card in the U.S.
   Since 2007, our firm has filed over 800 EB-5 investment immigration applications. Few Chinese immigration attorneys can match our extensive experience in EB-5 cases. We welcome eligible or interested readers to contact us—consultations are always free, and our attorneys have never been stumped by a question.