Pathways under Pressure: Migration, Employability, and the Limits of Student Agency

• In Event: Humanizing Approaches Toward Ethical and Meaningful Student Processes in Higher Education

Abstract

This study explores how international graduates in the U.S. navigate post-study employment transitions under visa and job market constraints. Using De Haas’ aspirations and capabilities framework, it examines how students exercise migratory agency through adjusted aspirations and recalibrated capabilities. Based on semi-structured interviews with twelve international students from STEM-designated master's programs, the findings highlight a processual journey shaped by early aspirations, structural realization, and mindset shifts. Students strategically respond to systemic barriers by building competencies such as policy literacy, time management, and networking. The study calls for more equitable opportunity structures that align with international students’ goals and extends De Haas’ framework to include the post-graduation phase of migration.

Authors

• Muhammad Zulqurnain Ul Haq Qazi, The Ohio State University

• Lubna Azram, Sprouts Early Education Center