Woman finds job in Germany instead

Ananya Joshi, a 26-year-old Indian national, had to exit the US due to her visa status after losing her job in 2025. She moved to Germany for a new opportunity. Joshi’s father had wanted to go to the US but lacked the financial means, so he saved for years to send her to study in America.

After completing her bachelor’s degree in India, Joshi moved to Illinois in 2022 to pursue a master’s in biotechnology at Northwestern University. She graduated in 2024 and worked in the US until she lost her job and had to leave the country.

Joshi worked for a startup developing lab-grown meat on an F-1 OPT visa. Her company initially promised to help her apply for an H-1B visa but later realized it couldn’t keep the promise. Joshi’s OPT was about to expire in July 2025, and she wasn’t able to devote time to job hunting due to her heavy workload.

In May 2025, Joshi told the company she would like to resign or work part-time to figure things out. She got let go the next day. Joshi started applying for jobs in cities around the world, focusing mostly on the US but also in Europe, Canada, and Australia.

Even after getting about 20 interviews and making it to the fourth round multiple times, Joshi was still not getting a job. This took place between May and July 2025, when immigration turbulence was starting to rise in the US.

Joshi got two job offers, one from a company in Germany and the other from Canada. People around her spoke highly about the stability of Germany and its labor laws, and having gone through so much, she realized she needed that stability. So, in January this year, Joshi moved to Rostock, a small city about three hours north of Berlin, to work at another lab-grown meat startup.

Joshi has had to get used to a new work culture. The company has ambitious goals, but the research and development process is more bureaucratic than what she found in the US. In both New Delhi and Chicago, life never seemed to slow down, so adjusting to life in a small city has been difficult.

Rostock is much cleaner, feels safer, and has walkable streets. Joshi doesn’t take that for granted. There’s a beautiful beach and a jungle trail that leads to it. But it’s a small place, and there’s not that much to do. The language barrier is a problem too; English is spoken at work, but it’s all in German outside.

Joshi has started taking German classes. It’s also not the best place for connectivity. The nearest airports are Hamburg and Berlin, both more than three hours away. As an immigrant, being able to travel easily matters a lot to her, especially if she needs to fly out quickly.

Right before Joshi lost her previous job, she had started dating her now-boyfriend, Ishan. Now they’re in a long-distance relationship between the US and Germany, and Joshi has flown back once to visit him. He can’t leave the US right now because, although he was selected for an H-1B visa, he hasn’t been able to secure a visa stamping appointment at a US consulate in India.

The US immigration system’s complexities have led many individuals like Joshi to seek opportunities elsewhere. As the US immigration system continues to evolve, it’s likely that more people will be forced to make difficult choices about their careers and personal lives, including seeking foreign citizenship amid tax fears.