Blog

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.