Published on: Aug 19, 2025 08:55 am IST
A Google employee on an H-1B visa shares her fears and instability stemming from the visa program.
The controversy regarding H-1B visa has been growing exponentially over the past years. Plans to reinvent the program have been signalled by the Trump administration, with MAGA-aligned activists pressing to make the rules more regimented or even to abolish it outright.
The situation is now much the same with Surbhi Madan, a 30-year-old Google software engineer, who first arrived in the States in 2013 to pursue her bachelor’s degree at Brown University, says her existence here continues to feel “temporary” because of her reliance on an H-1B visa.
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While speaking with Business Insider, Madan opened up about the program’s dual nature, one that offered her life-changing opportunities but also tied her future to a system marked by uncertainty.
The Google employee secured her H-1B in her very first attempt at the lottery back in 2017.
“While the one-third probability of getting picked in the lottery remains the same since I applied in 2017, the job market when I graduated felt better. Companies were hiring and willing to sponsor H-1B applications. I feel like I got really lucky when I compare it to the situation for recent graduates now,” she said.
“I’m anxious about making mistakes when I drive or file taxes because I don’t want anything to threaten my stay in the country. Because of the visa, my life in the US feels temporary.”
That sense of instability seeps into everyday decisions. Even when it comes to renewing her apartment lease, Madan hesitates to think long term. “I have an option to renew my apartment lease for one or two years, and I always choose one year because I never know how long I’ll be allowed to live in the US,” she explained.
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Her unease is compounded by the way she feels legal immigrants are sometimes perceived. Recalling one encounter upon returning from international travel, she shared how an immigration officer questioned her purpose of visit. “I live here,” she replied. To which the officer curtly responded: “You don’t live here; you work here.”
