Quick Caveat: Always look at a school's specific definition for this question, because schools ask about your parents' educational background differently. For example, I believe some of the UCs ask specifically if anyone in your family obtained a bachelor's degree from a school in the United States.
For the VAST MAJORITY of other institutions, you do not qualify as a first generation student if your parents did their undergrad abroad. This applies equally to international students and to US Citizens whose parents did their undergrad abroad.
Apparently this needs some rehashing after a Harvard Tiktoker, Olivia Zhang, made many videos implying that she is first gen, despite having parents who completed undergrad, masters, and PHDs abroad (and even an MBA in the United States).
Can we please take a moment to understand why those who have parents with bachelor equivalent degrees abroad do not qualify as First Gen. "First Generation" is a status designated to recognize the unique challenges that students who are the first in their family to go to college face. These students are unable to rely on parental advice for navigating seminars, academic advising, office hours, and many other elements that are crucial for college success. It is not a coincidence that the First Generation community overlaps significantly with those from blue collar, working class, and low income backgrounds.
Students with college educated parents are advantaged in this respect. They are not complete outsiders to the realm of higher education and its practices. Their families are more apt to recognize and emphsize the importance of education, and to thus better prepare and equip their children for the higher education landscape.
Obviously, foreign schools have their differences from American universities. If your parents received their education in China, or Brazil, or England, your experiences in college in the US will look different than theirs. But to equate these differences to a First Generation experience is improper and frankly insulting.
Especially for someone like Olivia, her parents' 15+ combined years spent in higher education will no doubt equip them with wisdom to share and privilege to pass on to their children. She will not be the first in her family to author a research paper, receive advising from a professor, or work in a white collar career because of the privilege her college degree will bestow upon her. Furthermore, she grew up with parents who emphasize the value of education, good grades, and hard work, because they first hand have been able to experience the upward mobility that graduate and professional degrees from top universities can bring.
I understand that the nature of social media and college admissions encourages students to market and sell themselves with compelling stories. While being the first in one's family to attend a university in this country comes with its unique challenges, it is not comparable to the first gen struggle. If it were, then plenty of wealthy, international students would fall into this category.
It really does hurt to see someone distort their story and obscure their privileged background so blatantly to build a following. It hurts more to see people defend this behavior, say that "its not that deep," and to empower someone to build a platform off of the false suggestion that she is first generation. It is always a shame when creators who build accounts to bring transparency to the admissions process are the opposite of transparent when it comes to representing their backgrounds.