From the perspective of the students, yes, there is a financial transfer to the U.S. However, from national perspective, there is an economic transfer to the other nation. The U.S. university system represents the product of decades (centuries in some cases) of public and private investment. Foreign students and the societies they return to get the benefit of that investment - a better educated than could be trained locally - without having made it themselves. Hence, an economic transfer from the US to the other nation.
You think all those going to school in the US are brilliant students? There are a ton of students who just have money and go to school in the US. They go to US universities who are in part propped up by the money spent by these students.
Having these type of students go back is not a lose. In fact they bring with them a demand for American goods, and culture.
I said it was foreign aid, in that it benefits their home countries more than the US. But economics is not zero-sum, so just because it amounts to foreign aid doesn't mean it's a loss per se, just that the US could be getting more out of the deal than it currently is.
I think it would probably be better for everyone if we streamlined the process of transitioning from an H1B to permanent residency, and it would definitely be better for the US economy.
From the perspective of the students, yes, there is a financial transfer to the U.S. However, from national perspective, there is an economic transfer to the other nation. The U.S. university system represents the product of decades (centuries in some cases) of public and private investment. Foreign students and the societies they return to get the benefit of that investment - a better educated than could be trained locally - without having made it themselves. Hence, an economic transfer from the US to the other nation.