I got an H-1B visa and my dream job at Google. Both were less safe than I thought.0

• bond-market, Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Business / Big Tech, Business / Companies, Business / Computers and Software, Business / Markets, Business / Social Media, business-idea, business-insider-today, business-strategy, career-transition, Careers, China, CoECI News, E! Insider, Energy & Environment Newsletter, Finance, Gaming News Roundup, Gear / Gear News and Events, Global, Global Precipitation, global warming, globalstar, google, green-card, h-1b, h-1b-visa, h1-b-fallout, HEALTH, Home, House, immigration, insider-picks, insider-picks-guides, insider-reviews, insider-reviews-2021, insider-today, job-market, laid-off, Markets, Markets & Festivals, News, newsletter, Newsletters, Nexstar Media Wire News, People News, Personal Finance, personal-finance, Photovogue / Editorial / News, Politics / Politics News, Property / News, Reviews, reviews-rit-ads, Security / Security News, shop, Shop Beauty, singapore-freelancer, tech-layoffs
• July 9, 2026

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