I moved from Peru to the US at 17 on a tennis scholarship. 8 years later, an H-1B layoff sent me home.0

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• September 7, 2026

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Luciana Pereyra, a 25-year-old Peruvian national who moved to the US at 17 on a tennis scholarship, lost her H-1B-sponsored job in 2025, and had to return to Peru. It has been edited for length and clarity. I was born and raised in Lima, Peru, and