Yes, this is very true.
I did attend MIT as an international student. However, this is critical: I had an affordable safety in my home country (actually in my home city). Also, I would have been happy to attend my affordable safety. Similarly, @Leods needs to make sure that they have an affordable safety in their home country.
I had a few other advantages, such as the fact that Cambridge, Massachusetts was only a five hour drive from my parent’s home. In contrast, I have done the flight from Boston to Argentina (with an intermediate stop). It is a long way and just the flight by itself is not cheap.
I agree with what I see as the overall sentiment of this thread: Apply to a few schools in the US, but be aware that it is long shot.