Overview
- Ananya Joshi, a 2024 Northwestern biotechnology graduate, worked at a biotech startup on F-1 OPT before being laid off during company-wide downsizing.
- She spent months publicly documenting her job search and warned on LinkedIn that her STEM OPT clock was ticking and she needed a new role to remain in the U.S.
- On September 29, she posted an emotional Instagram video thanking America as her first home as a financially independent adult and declaring she had left the “American Dream.”
- Her posts and subsequent coverage report she has relocated to Dubai, and she has not announced concrete next steps.
- The video went viral and drew mixed reactions, with messages of support as well as criticism noting she appeared to fly in a premium cabin.