A Reddit post went viral as it offered some advice to the H-1B visa holders in the US, asking them to stay away from buying a property in the US. The post said apart from the usual cost that comes with buying a property, the tech environment needs to be taken considered of and it is “way too unstable”. “Before you know it, you may lose your job, or the country could become unfriendlier to H-1Bs. The stress from a mortgage will be intense. Your company could change its tune any day and you are just a resource,” the post said. Big techs have been announcing mass layoffs and while the US tech workers blame H-1B hirings for the layoffs, H-1B visa holders are also losing their jobs. According to a job tracker, 95 per cent of employers plan to lay off workers in July across various industries including retail, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, healthcare, package delivery etc.
The viral Reddit post on whether non-citizens should buy a house in the US.
Intel, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Meta, Blue Origin, Chevron, UPS, Crowdstrike, Jack Dorsey’s fintech Block all announced mass layoffs. Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Amazon, Indeed, and Intel said they are leveraging AI to automate and optimize operations while Intel,Chevron, Jasper, UCSF cited financial pressures, trial failures restructuring costs or service consolidation. There were some oerdimnace-based reductions as well.
‘Buying a house has nothing to do with H-1B’
The viral Reddit post met many naysayers who said it depends on the mentality of the individual, as renting and changing houses also come with their own costs. “What next, you going to tell me what I am supposed to eat so that I am healthy, don’t end up with a big hospital bill in case I cant pay, since I am on H1 I might get paid peanuts?” one wrote.
