My father saved for years so I could work in the US. Losing my job forced me to start over in Germany.

Ananya Joshi moved from Chicago to Germany because of visa issues. Ananya Joshi Ananya Joshi, a bioprocess scientist, moved from India to the US in 2022 to pursue her master's degree. After graduating and working in Chicago, she left the US after her employer couldn't sponsor her for an H-1B visa. Now, she's working in Germany and thinking about starting her own company in India. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ananya Joshi, a 26-year-old Indian national who lost her job in 2025, had to exit the US because of her visa status, and moved to Germany for a new opportunity. It has been edited for length and clarity. I inherited the American dream from my father, who wanted to go to the US but lacked the financial means. Growing up in New Delhi, we had a little Statue of Liberty souvenir on display in our home. My father saved for years so I could study in America . After completing my bachelor's degree in India, I moved to Illinois in 2022 to pursue a master's in biotechnology at Northwestern University. This is part of our ongoing coverage of how the Trump administration's H-1B visa changes affect workers. If you've been impacted and want to share your story, please fill out this short form for the reporter. I graduated in 2024 and worked in the US until I abruptly lost my job and had to leave the country. Living it up in Chicago Joshi graduated from Northwestern University and worked as a bioprocess engineer in Chicago for a year. Ananya Joshi In college, I started working for a startup developing lab-grown meat. It was part of a six-month research program. The internship led to a full-time job offer, paying about $75,000 a year. I worked on an F-1 OPT visa. I was working as a bioprocess scientist, helping develop methods to scale up cultivated meat production. My job was busy; I often worked seven-day weeks, but I got a kick out of doing innovative things and learning every day, so I didn't mind the hustle. Living in Chicago came with perks, incl