While working as a project team leader in LA, I often hear stories about Korean students these days.

In the past, studying abroad was seen as the starting line for immigration, but the atmosphere has changed significantly recently.

With the rightward shift in immigration policies under the Trump administration gaining momentum, students are clearly rethinking their strategies.

Previously, there was an expectation that doing well in school would lead to OPT, H-1B, and eventually permanent residency, but now that path has become very uncertain.

Perhaps because of this, students are starting to separate their thoughts on immigration and residency from the very beginning.

It's not about staying in the U.S. for a long time anymore; what's more important is what experiences and qualifications they can take away from here.

A noticeable change is in the choice of majors. Once, many students chose fields like business and communication, but now there is a clear trend towards STEM fields.

This is because the OPT period is longer, and companies might consider sponsorship.

However, they are no longer blindly aiming for employment at American companies like before.

From conversations with students in LA, it seems they are making concrete plans to return to Korea or the Asian market after working in the U.S. for a few years.

This is a strategy to leverage their U.S. experience as a kind of brand. Another change is in their attitude towards permanent residency.

In the past, permanent residency was seen as a life goal, but now it is treated as one of the high-risk options.

Everyone feels that plans can collapse in an instant if sponsorship is cut off or policies change.

As a result, they are much more cautious about traditional routes like marriage or investment immigration.

There is a strong belief in keeping the option open to return when conditions improve rather than forcing themselves to stay in the U.S.

Interestingly, this change is not simply a form of giving up.

Students are quite realistic about the situation.

They acknowledge that while the U.S. is still a land of opportunity, those opportunities are not as widely available to foreigners as they once were.

Instead, they are finding new ways to connect with the U.S. through global companies and startups.

The recognition that one can work with the U.S. market without having a U.S. address is also reflected in their immigration strategies.

From the perspective of a worker in their 40s, Korean students today are definitely quick to calculate.

They focus more on numbers and probabilities than on vague American dreams.

The strengthened immigration policies after Trump have shifted their direction rather than instilling fear.

From an all-in strategy for the U.S. to a strategy that utilizes the U.S. Perhaps this is the most realistic survival method created by this generation of students.