Im an Amazon software engineer who wasnt selected for the H-1B visa. I was obsessed with staying in the US‚ but not anymore.

• Wen-Hsing Huang moved to the US for graduate faculty in 2022 and later landed a job at Amazon.

• Over time, he realized how little control he had over elements like visas, layoffs, and the financial system.

• He plans to finally return to Taiwan, so he can have the freedom to grow to be an entrepreneur.

This as-told-to essay is based on a dialog with Wen-Hsing Huang, a 25-year-old software development engineer at Amazon who’s from Taiwan and is now in Seattle. Business Insider has verified Huang’s employment historical past with documentation. The following has been edited for size and readability.

I always knew I needed to examine and work in the United States. When I was 18, I dreamed of making $200,000 a 12 months working in Big Tech when I graduated.

Over time, I started to query whether or not I needed my profession dictated by a visa. I realized how little control I had over exterior elements: the financial system, layoffs, and visa insurance policies. The only factor I might control was my response.

That’s why I’m not overly careworn about the latest H-1B visa updates. My experiences have made me resilient and given me a more mature mentality to overcome challenges.

The new American dream is not about staying in America; it is about utilizing the expertise, community, and financial savings you construct right here to create a life where you are not at the mercy of visas, layoffs, or politics. For me, that means returning home, building one thing of my own, and having fun with the freedom that comes with it.

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I got here to the US in the midst of tech layoffs

My unique plan was to come to the US on an F-1 visa, examine, and work on the Optional Practical Training program, which permits worldwide college students to work for a 12 months after graduating — or up to three years if you are in STEM. It’s a common path for worldwide college students to get their start in the US.

I needed to work for a company that might apply for a inexperienced card for me, work full time for 5 years, grow to be a senior software engineer, and then pursue my dream of entrepreneurship, since I would have a better security internet and would not need to fear about my visa. I’d work for another 10 to 20 years, obtain FIRE (financial independence, retire early), and retire at 40 years previous.

I studied very exhausting at National Central University in Taiwan, graduating at the top of my class. My English wasn’t excellent, but I labored exhausting enough to earn a spot in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign grasp’s program in laptop science.

I arrived on an F-1 pupil visa in 2022, when there have been mass tech layoffs at Meta, Twitter, and many other corporations. Finding a summer time internship was actually tough. Usually, that’s the path to a full-time job, but I had no presents.

I devoted myself to discovering a job

I had borrowed $100,000 from my dad and mom to examine in the US, and they weren’t that rich. If I did not land a job after commencement, I would have to go away within 60 days, $100,000 in debt to my dad and mom. I dedicated myself full time to discovering a full-time job. I practiced my elevator pitch repeatedly, attended every profession honest I might discover, refined my coding expertise and résumé, and utilized to any alternatives I noticed.

My mental health was fairly horrible during that time, but it gave me good life expertise and made me be taught what I can and cannot control in life.

After graduating from my program, I landed a job at ASM, a semiconductor company in Arizona. Six months later, in September 2024, I joined Amazon, where I’ve been working ever since.

I initially needed to stay in the US

At first, I was obsessed with staying in the US. I needed a inexperienced card and was very afraid I would not give you the option to keep. The turning level got here in April 2025, when there was a lot of news about F-1 college students being deported. I did not get selected in the H-1B lottery for the second time and felt very unsure and insecure.

I’d deliberate a journey to Japan that month, and despite the news, I traveled because I realized I did not care whether or not I stayed in the US or not.

I’ll have one more probability to apply for the H-1B visa next 12 months before my OPT runs out, but I’ve already made peace with the chance of leaving.

Many people have an phantasm of stability, but the world is not secure, and neither is the financial system. Layoffs can occur anytime. I consider AI will change many jobs, including in software.

These are some elements that pushed me to act with urgency and control my own life. I don’t need to sacrifice my 20s attempting to get this unsure and illusory American dream.

Theres a new American dream

For three years, every major choice had to be filtered through “Will this affect my visa status?” slightly than “Is this what I actually want to do?” I could not take a look at business concepts, take entrepreneurial dangers, or even journey freely without worrying about reentry.

Now, my plan is different. I’ll keep working at Amazon a while longer, save money, and return to Taiwan to start my own business. With the web, borders matter less. I can register a company in the US, serve a global buyer base, and earn US-level income while having fun with Taiwan’s decrease value of residing and better healthcare.

Despite the difficult course of, I’m still very grateful for my time in America. I earned my degree, gained Big Tech expertise, broadened my perspective, and discovered life’s most important classes: resilience — sustaining strength amid uncertainty — and discovering my true values.

I got here right here with deep admiration for a nation that has always attracted adventurers in pursuit of freedom and alternative, where, regardless of your background or where you come from, expertise and perseverance matter more than origins. I consider that America still exists in spirit.

But leaving means I can finally make selections based on what I need to construct slightly than what my visa permits. I do not give advice to others; everybody has their own priorities. But for me, leaving the US is not a failure. It’s freedom.

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