In 2005, Preeya Malik graduated from the University in Toronto and moved to the US to start law school as an F-1 international student. There, she obtained her Juris Doctor (law degree) and LLM (Master in Law) in Real Estate Development Law from the University of Miami, Florida, with the goal of finding a job and building a life in the US. Although Canadian citizens have the ability to work in the United States via a temporary work visa, TN visa, rather than an H-1B visa, a TN visa does not lead to a US green card or citizenship. The route to a green card via H-1B, although faster for Canadian citizens, was still a long and arduous path and came with its own share of restrictions, such as being unable to work independently and being tied to a willing sponsor employer.
To help families in similar situations, Malik, Managing Director of Step Global, has spent the past 13 years educating individuals in the GCC region about the path of an F-1 international student, including strategies for