Amid growing scrutiny over H-1B reforms and OPT hiring, a social media post on TeamBlind is becoming a topic of debate about how these visa holders may be creating a threat to US graduates seeking employment.
In a social media post on TeamBlind, one user raised a concern about the increasing presence of foreign workers on various work visas. This has led to crumbling opportunities for US graduates.
With the economic landscape shifting, the job search for recent US graduates has never seemed more challenging.
According to the post, an entire generation of US college graduates is struggling to find work. The number of foreign workers holding CPT and OPT visas are over 646,365 workers, who often face fewer salary restrictions than their American counterparts.
It’s not just OPT, according to the post, another million foreign workers in the US on H-1B, L1, J1, and H4 visas, many of whom are filling positions that could otherwise go to US grads.
“This isn’t competition; it’s displacement,” the post asserts, questioning how the surge in foreign visa holders has begun to push out US workers, contributing to an increasing sense of economic insecurity for the next generation.
Why are companies hiring foreigners?
A key point raised in the post is the financial incentive for employers to hire foreign workers over domestic candidates.
Companies are able to save around 7.5% on salary when they hire visa holders under CPT or OPT, with no minimum salary requirement in some cases.
While this may benefit employers in terms of cost, the post claims that it creates an unfair playing field for US graduates, who are burdened with higher living costs and student loan debt.
As Newsweek reported, only 30% of graduates from the Class of 2024 had secured full-time jobs in their chosen field by mid-year, a sharp drop from the previous year’s 41%.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates (ages 22–27) is at 5.8% in mid-2025, far above the national average of 4.2%. The post concludes saying “hiring managers and interviewers, “STOP them right on their way.”
‘Your universities should not admit foreign students’
Netizens posted their comments on the post. A user noted, “Ask your universities not to admit foreign students! Your universities allow them in and charge more than double the tuition fees, which partly funds the tuition of local students! You can’t have your cake and eat it too!.”
Another added, “I’ll never understand the need to import non-tech visa workers. PM, BA job roles are abused.”
“Americans could have 1490+ SAT, 4.0 GPA, incredible extracurriculars, apply Restricted Early Action, and still get rejected. Meanwhile, the majority of OPT students didn’t achieve even half of this,” stated a user.
“4/5 of the people on my team are not native born. 3 of these immigrants are white, only the nonwhite immigrant bothered to get citizenship The complaint against immigration is deeply associated with racism because nobody cares about Europeans or aussies/kiwis/sa taking the jobs,” added another.
(This story is based on a post shared by a social media user. The details, opinions, and statements quoted herein belong solely to the original poster and do not reflect the views of Financialexpress.com. We have not independently verified the claims.)