Research MBA Programs

Hello Guys,

I am facing a dilemma concerning the MBA programs I could apply for. I am really hesitating between US and Canadian ones. I will explain why below.

I am French and Canadian Permanent Resident (I only got my PR 3 month ago) and I am working in France in the Aerospace Industry (Project Management and Configuration Management for Airbus) for 5 years. I would like to do an MBA for a career switch and move to Management Consulting in North America. I am just at the beginning of the process and I started to work my GMAT 1 month ago (700 score target)

I was thinking first of doing an MBA in California (Berkeley Haas, UCLA Anderson or USC Marshall) for ultimately working there (It's a personal goal) but I will have to find an employer who will be OK for getting me a H1-B visa. I know that there are only 20,000 H1-B visas which are delivered to students who complete an MBA / JD / PHD program and the lucky ones are then selected by a lottery system. The other ones have to leave the US...with a $150K debt...
Therefore, doing an MBA in the US is a risky bet for an international student. Moreover, I will probably also lose my Canadian PR as I will not stay in Canada for the minimum period. That's why I am quite reluctant for this plan.

The second option is to do an MBA in Canada (Rotman, Mc Gill, etc...). These programs have a lower international reputation than American ones (even if they are still good ones) but they are very good for the Canadian Market. So, the plan would be to start working in Canada after the MBA and then move to the US with the NAFTA TN visa which is granted for Canadian citizen. The only issue is that will not be easy to move in the SF / LA area as my network will be located in Canada.

Could you please advise me? If you have other options in mind, do not hesitate to let me know.

Thanks

Alex

Hello Alex

Your concerns are indeed valid. As far as H1B visa is concerned, once the lottery is out, an additional 20,000 students are selected for H1B that come under the advanced degree H1B. So the total number of H1B visas granted each year is above 80,000 and it has been above 100,000 for the past few years. Looking at the number of international students in US business schools, it is easy to conclude that H1B is hardly a deterrent for international students. Even if you do not get a visa in the lottery or under the advanced degree criteria, you can always find jobs in the European Union as US MBA is recognized worldwide, and come back to the US later. Additionally, if you pursue MBA from any of the top 10 Business schools in the US, your chances of getting an H1B will be higher.

Alternately you can study in Canada and come back to US later once you are a citizen there. Rotman, Schulich and Ivey are some of the top schools in Canada and studying here will certainly be excellent for your career. I would advise you to talk to apply to schools in both the US and Canada, talk to alumni of schools in the US who were international students themselves and inquire about their experience in getting the H1B.

All the best

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Alex,

If you are targeting management consulting, I would not let the H1B visa be an obstacle. Your target management consulting companies are accustomed to getting H1B visas and the dollar amount for sponsoring a foreign applicant is a drop in the bucket in comparison to total training and compensation expenses for these companies.
But why don't you apply to both Canadian and U.S. schools and then worry about which country when you are deciding between schools to which you have been accepted?

Good luck,