A 31-year-old Chinese software engineer's journey from securing an H-1B visa to landing his dream job at Google has highlighted the uncertainty faced by foreign technology workers in the United States. Gu Yichen achieved major career milestones but later realised that both employment and immigration security could be affected by sudden corporate decisions.
Seeking an alternative to China's highly competitive college entrance exam, he opted to study in the United States. As he recounted to Business Insider, "I also hadn't realised that it would eventually lead me to build a career in the US."
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Gu Yichen studied engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, began his US career through Amazon, joined full-time in 2017, and secured an H-1B visa after three attempts, according to the report.
In late 2022, Gu left Amazon and joined Google during a massive industry boom, describing the opportunity as a dream career achievement. "Companies were hiring aggressively, interviews were relatively easy, and compensation packages were huge," he said.
However, his experience at the company was short-lived. He joined around Christmas, but within weeks, Google announced layoffs as part of major cost-cutting measures. His entire team was laid off in January 2023 before he could complete any significant work on the project he was hired for.
The job loss created additional challenges because Gu was on an H-1B visa, which requires foreign workers to find another sponsoring employer within a 60-day grace period after losing employment.
Rather than immediately hunting for a new role, Gu returned to China. However, he kept his eye on a return, explaining, "I'm not the type who can rest for long. I was hoping that, as a Google alum, I'd be rehired. If a position became available within six months of leaving, I wouldn't have to go through the interview process again."
When his former Amazon teammates informed him that his old position had opened up again, Gu eventually returned to his previous team at Amazon in Sunnyvale, California. The move allowed him to continue working under his existing H-1B petition without restarting the complex visa process. He is now pursuing a green card application.
Reflecting on his experience, Gu said he realised that even prestigious positions at major companies can be affected by restructuring, changing business priorities and economic conditions.
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"My experience at Google made me realise that while I prefer working on experimental projects, companies tend to prioritise essential teams and mature products over exploratory projects," he said, highlighting the vulnerability of speculative tech teams.
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