This As Told Essay is based on a conversation with Tanvi Pisal, a 29-year-old UX designer from India. He went through two layoffs in one year while working in the United States. It has been edited for length and clarity. I have always seen the United States as the land of opportunity. I grew up
President Donald Trump’s plans for H-1B visas run into legal obstacles. A federal appeals court on Friday refused to revive Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas, dealing another setback to the administration’s effort to sharply increase the cost of hiring highly skilled foreign workers. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused
This As-Told essay is based on a conversation with Mohamed Zeeshan, 32, an Indian citizen and green card holder, who lives in Arlington, Virginia. The following has been edited for length and clarity. My parents are both Indian. I was born in Indonesia because my father’s job took him there, but we returned to India
This essay as told is based on a conversation with Ananya Joshi, a 26-year-old Indian citizen who lost her job in 2025, had to leave the United States due to her visa status, and moved to Germany in search of a new opportunity. It has been edited for length and clarity. I inherited the American
This essay as told is based on a conversation with Gu Yichen, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in California. After being laid off by Google, he returned to Amazon, where he works on an H-1B visa. His words have been edited for length and clarity. I spent my sophomore year of high school as an
This essay as told is based on a conversation with Vivienne Yang, a 31-year-old Taiwanese citizen who lost her job and had to leave the US due to her visa status, leaving behind her apartment and two cats. It has been edited for length and clarity. I started falling in love with the American dream
