These highly skilled and educated foreign workers have been documenting the challenges of trying to build a career in the U.S. “If I don’t find a job, I have to leave the country.” “I sent out 907 applications.” “Have I ever really relaxed in America?” They need an H-1B visa, which is granted through a lottery system that allows American companies to hire highly qualified international professionals for up to six years, in industries such as technology and medicine. But the Trump administration has made changes to the program, requiring companies to pay a high fee and implementing new rules that prioritize the highest-paid foreign workers, in an effort to make more jobs available to Americans. This has forced some foreigners to rethink their career plans. “I think the United States is still the gold standard.” Wen-Hsing Huang came to the US from Taiwan in 2022 to work in the tech scene and was hired by Amazon on an H-1B visa. “I want to use my talents to change the world and I believe that the United States was the best platform to do so.” Ananya Joshi came from India to attend a master’s program in Chicago in 2022. “So it was actually my father’s dream that I had inherited because my father couldn’t go because of his financial situation.” Haina, a Chinese national, fell in love with the United States while studying in New York. He got his H-1B in 2022. “I remember there were a lot of companies that could sponsor.” Haina said he has experienced a recent change, where it has become more difficult to find companies that sponsor H-1B visas. “This time when I was looking for a job, I didn’t realize it could be a deal breaker. I just had my second interview of 2026 and it was a pretty short call.” (Recruiter) “I do not believe we are eligible or able to sponsor this position at this time.” “They don’t even really know if I’m qualified or experienced or anything like that. The decision is already made at that point.” “Please make sure the company you are about to work for has experience handling international hiring.” Joshi said a startup he interned at during graduate school rescinded its promise to sponsor his H-1B visa. “Ask for everything in writing. And then there were jobs that were contract jobs. They just turned me down. They only needed people with a green card or U.S. citizenship.” Even with an H-1B visa and a six-figure salary, Huang said he felt anxious as layoffs in the tech sector increased and Trump’s immigration policies continued to change. “I woke up every morning with a knot in my stomach, because my whole life depended on a policy that I couldn’t control. The United States seems not to be very welcoming to immigrants who contribute to this country.” “The signals are pretty clear right now. They want to make this H-1B visa risky and also more difficult.” Hello everyone.” Despite that, Haina says she is determined to continue looking for work until she is forced to leave the country. “The pressure on where I will be in the next step of my career or, for example, my life. I kind of lost the ability to enjoy my life or just be happy.” “So I had to leave the US. Of course, I expanded my search beyond the US. I found a job in Germany.” Joshi packed his bags and started a new position at a European biotech company in January. “I think I left at a good time, because there would have been more stress. I would have been stuck in a loop.” “It’s an endless cycle of anxiety.” After leaving his job at Amazon, Huang is now back in Taiwan and plans to launch his own company. “I’m betting on building an AI company that gives me full control over my time, location and future. Staying in the United States is no longer the only way to achieve my American dream.”
