This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tanvi Pisal, a 29-year-old UX designer from India. She went through two layoffs within a year while working in the US. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve always seen the US as the land of opportunity.
I grew up in Pune, a city in western India, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in software engineering. After graduating, I worked in software, user experience, and interface design.
Back in 2019, design was still a relatively new field in India. I saw much bigger opportunities in the US, especially in Silicon Valley, where I could work with brilliant minds and innovative technology. That’s when I decided to apply to master’s programs in the US.
In the fall of 2021, I moved to California to pursue a degree related to human-computer interaction at San José State University.
During my final year, I interned at a Bay Area healthcare tech startup that hired me after graduation.
I was working on STEM OPT, which allowed me to work in the US for up to 3 years after graduating, and I hoped to stay longer on an H-1B visa. My company sponsored me, but I wasn’t selected in the lottery.
Back-to-back layoffs
I could see that AI was disrupting SaaS companies like mine.
So around June 2025, I anticipated the layoffs and started applying for other full-time roles. I thought I’d have more time, but I was laid off a few months later, in October.
I aggressively applied for new roles, and in November, I received an offer for a product design position at a New York City recruiting company, where I’d be designing its mobile app. They asked me to relocate, and I did, even though they didn’t offer relocation assistance.
I sold most of my furniture in San José, subleased my room, packed my life into five U-Haul boxes, and shipped them to New York.
On short notice, I found a shared apartment in Newport, New Jersey. At $1,800 a month, it was all I could afford. I commuted an hour each way for 12-hour office shifts.
My world turned upside down when, one day at the office, I was abruptly laid off just two weeks after starting. The company gave only vague reasons for the decision.
I’d moved to New York just 15 days earlier. I couldn’t understand why the company had me relocate from the West Coast to the East Coast only to lay me off.
I remember walking out of the office that day and sitting on the snow-covered sidewalk, wondering whether coming to the US had been the right decision.
Packing up my life into boxes twice in a month
I picked myself up and started returning the things I’d bought for my new life in New York while I still could.
The only thing I couldn’t return was my desk, which I sold to the person taking over my sublease. I told my roommates to use up the groceries I’d just bought.
The whole ordeal — packing up my life twice in a month — cost me about $6,000.
I flew back to California on December 25.
My Hail Mary attempt
At that point, I thought, “The worst has happened.” I’d lost everything. My STEM OPT was about to expire, and I had 60 days to figure out a way to stay in the US before I’d have to return to India.
So I decided I might as well give it one last try.
Back in California, I spent three hours each day on LinkedIn Easy Apply, then targeted applications before building AI-powered design projects to strengthen my portfolio.
It paid off. I landed an interview on January 5. From that week on, I had at least two interviews each week.
Finally, I interviewed for a UX designer role with a product team at a Big Tech company in Silicon Valley. After two interviews, they offered me a contract role in February. I couldn’t believe it. I was so relieved.
My nervous system has not recovered
Although I’ve settled into my new apartment in San José and am enjoying my new job, I still haven’t recovered from the trauma of the back-to-back layoffs.
I’m always scared. Every time I get an email or am called into an unscheduled meeting, I feel anxious. I need to know what it’s about beforehand.
I’ve decided to continue my studies on the side, enrolling in a Ph.D. program in business administration at Westcliff University, with a concentration in human-computer interaction. It allows me to stay in the US on a student visa.
I don’t really have a plan for the future right now, given how volatile the immigration situation is. I’m just taking it one day at a time, easing back into a routine and trying to live my life normally.
Looking back at my journey, I wouldn’t change a thing. The struggles have taught me so much.
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