Overview

• Google software engineer Surbhi Madan says her life feels temporary despite more than a decade in the United States, having arrived in 2013 for Brown University and winning the H-1B lottery in 2017 on her first try.
• She describes constant worry that minor mistakes, such as in driving or tax filing, could jeopardize her status, and she limits herself to one-year apartment leases because of uncertainty.
• Madan recounts an immigration officer telling her, “You don’t live here; you work here,” a moment she says reinforced how conditional her presence feels.
• The Trump administration has signaled plans to tighten the skilled-worker visa program, while MAGA-aligned activists intensify calls to restrict or abolish H-1B hiring.
• US officials this month outlined a USCIS proposal to replace the lottery with wage-based selection for H-1B petitions, a shift that observers say could disadvantage fresh graduates.