International students and post-grad employment in the US

Hi everyone,

I'm currently applying for a few US schools (Duke, UCLA, Cornell) and having spoken to a few alumni from one of these schools this far, I've learned that it's difficult for non-US (international) students to get jobs within areas outside of the 'traditional' consulting or finance roles. Whereas for example, if I'm interested in marketing/brand management, as a Canadian applicant looking for work in the US (and as a career switcher from finance), it appears that it's much more difficult to land positions within these areas because US companies prefer hiring students with American citizenship.

Is this true? Will I be at a huge disadvantage, even if I were to go to a Top 15 US program, at finding employment within a non-consulting or non-finance role in the US (i.e. marketing, brand/product management, etc.) given that I'm from outside of the US (Canadian)? Would I just be better off going to a Canadian school, making the career switch into marketing within Canada, and then after a few years try to find employment within the US?

Thanks very much for any insights.